Prediction: Tottenham vs Aston Villa

Prediction: Tottenham win

Best Odds: 3/10

Bookmaker: bet365

The Premier League returns later on tonight when Liverpool go head to head with Norwich City, but beyond that, we want to take a look at the late Saturday game between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. These two teams represent what it means to be a truly historic club in English football, with both holding accolades that most teams could only dream of possessing. Tomorrow evening, however, that isn’t going to mean a thing, as both teams attempt to register their first three points of the campaign.

Tottenham

While Tottenham’s summer transfer window didn’t go quite as well as many had hoped, they still brought in a few exciting new faces. Plus, when you’re coming off the back of a Champions League final appearance, it’s kind of difficult for the fans to get all too annoyed. Mauricio Pochettino is still at the helm which is obviously a huge plus for the club heading into the new season, and in terms of expectations, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them competing for trophies between now and May.

Team News

Son will be suspended for this game after his red card at the end of last season, Foyth is out through injury/suspension, and Dier, Aurier and Wanyama will all be assessed before kick-off. Lo Celso isn’t likely to feature either, with Eriksen’s future being in doubt too.

Aston Villa

Dean Smith is a man with a plan, with their 12 signings in the last few months leading to a great deal of hope and optimism at Villa Park. Their fans have always felt like they are too big to be competing in the second tier of the English game, and now, they don’t have to worry about that following their Championship Playoff Final victory over Derby County at Wembley. Of course, the big question is whether or not they’ll be able to sustain this momentum as we prepare for the new season.

Team News

Nakamba & Luiz aren’t expected to play any role in this game, with Ezri Konsa dealing with a minor injury that ruled him out of the win over Leipzig.

Factors to Consider

• The game will be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
• Tottenham finished in fourth place in the Premier League last season.
• Aston Villa finished 5th in the Championship last season, gaining promotion via the playoffs.
• Tottenham lead the overall head to head standings 72-56 with 35 draws.
• In their last meeting in January 2017, Tottenham beat Aston Villa 2-0.

Conclusion

The fact that Aston Villa have been such a presence in the transfer window this summer seems to be clouding the judgement of many fans, in a similar manner to what happened with Fulham last season. While we think they’ll do much better than the Cottagers over the course of the new campaign, we can’t look past Spurs picking up the win here. It’s going to be close, and there may even only be one goal in it, but Tottenham have way more quality littered throughout their starting XI.

Prediction: Tottenham win

Best Odds: 3/10

Bookmaker: bet365