Three match-ups to watch as Tottenham hosts Aston Villa in EPL

Can Dele get under Luiz’ skin?

The third key match-up is the battle between Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking midfielder – Dele Alli, and Aston Villa’s defensive midfielder Douglas Luiz. The Villan midfielder is a solid distributor of the ball who works hard to stay in front of attackers and not dive in.

However, Luiz does have a penchant for committing fouls, is not really that sure of a tackler, and can be undisciplined. In his heyday a couple of seasons ago, Dele Alli would run circles around a player like Luiz and likely have him get at least one card as the cagey Spurs midfielder gets under people’s skin.

Against Wolves this past Sunday we again were seeing the Dele Alli who likes to get on the ball and go at people. If Dele Alli can get on the ball and go at Luiz, there is a chance he can not only beat the Brazilian midfielder, he can get under his skin as well. In 32 matches, Luiz has picked up 8 yellow cards and 1 red, which is a card every four matches.

Luiz has not been carded for three straight games, seems like the man is due. If Dele is ever to get back to his best, being a bit of a bad boy – within reason – is necessary and Luiz is the kind of guy Dele can wind up.

So if Dele can get the best of Luiz, Dier and Alderweireld can keep a watchful eye on Ollie Watkins, and the right side of the Tottenham team gives as good as it gets, Spurs can win this match. If Villa gets the better of these three match-ups, then anything can happen.