Prediction: Tottenham vs Aston Villa

Verdict: Tottenham to win to nil

Best Odds: 21/20

Bookmaker: bet365

Fresh from the impressive triumph over Premier League leaders Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round. The Villans have largely struggled in the Championship this season, but they hope the FA Cup magic will help them shock in-form Spurs.

Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur just did all their title rivals a huge favour by defeating Premier League leaders Chelsea, although the most important thing is that their own title bid is now back on track. Spurs would have been in problems had they failed to end the Blues’ amazing winning run, but manager Mauricio Pochettino once again proved he was rightly considered one of world’s most talented tacticians. The Argentine made a risky decision to mirror Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation, but that worked like a charm as Spurs scored two goals through Dele Alli to record a memorable triumph. The White Hart Lane outfit thus closed the gap behind the league leaders to seven points, while climbing to third in the standings and they now definitely look like genuine title contenders. Chances are that manager Mauricio Pochettino will use the FA Cup game with Aston Villa to rest some of his starters ahead of the busy second part of the season, but that is unlikely to make the job a lot easier for the visitors. Tottenham were eliminated in the last 16 stage in last year’s competition, and they can be trusted to easily negotiate the third round this time out.

Team News

Mauricio Pochettino will make wholesale changes for the Aston Villa game, meaning the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks, Kevin Wimmer, Ben Davies and Michel Vorm should all get a chance to shine.

Aston Villa

After failing to escape relegation from the Premier League, Aston Villa quickly found out just how difficult it was to play in the Championship, and they currently occupy 12th position in the standings, sitting seven points adrift of play-off positions. As expected, the squad suffered numerous changes in the summer, but while the club spent quite a bit of cash on new players in an attempt to compensate for the departures, most summer recruits have yet to hit the ground running. This is obviously not true for Ivorian striker Jonathan Kodjia, who already has 9 goals in 19 Championship appearances, but the 27-year-old will miss next few weeks of action as he is set to represent the Elephants at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Aston Villa have done fairly well of late, winning 7 of last 13 league fixtures, but their performances on the road leave a lot to be desired. The Villans not only lost three of last four away matches, but failed to score in any of those defeats, which is definitely a cause for concern ahead of the trip to White Hart Lane.

Team News

Jonathan Kodjia and Jordan Ayew are both away on international duty, but Mile Jedinak has recovered from illness and he should start.

Key Factors to Consider

• Spurs won last five matches in all competitions
• Tottenham won last six home games
• They kept a clean sheet in three of last five home fixtures
• Villa failed to score in last three defeats
• Key forwards Kodjia and Ayew are missing

Conclusion

Even though Spurs will not be at full strength, they are expected to ease off to the next stage as Aston Villa have largely struggled on the road this season. Considering that top scorer Kodjia and fellow attacker Ayew will be sorely missed, we are backing the hosts to to win to nil.

Verdict: Tottenham to win to nil

Best Odds: 21/20

Bookmaker: bet365