Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match preview and team news

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·16 Mei 2025

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match preview and team news

Aston Villa welcome Europa League finalists Tottenham Hotspur to Villa Park tonight for their final home game of the season.

Unai Emery’s side currently sit just outside the Champions League qualification places. The Villans are level on points with fifth-place Chelsea, but find themselves just below them in the table due to an inferior goal difference.

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Jacob Ramsey will be unable to make an impact tonight due to suspension. The Englishman was sent off for two bookable offences in Villa’s previous match – a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth.

Let’s do this together, Villans 😤
– Kamis, 15 Mei 2025

Youri Tielemans and Marcus Rashford are the other two absentees, with both of their campaigns cut short through injury. Prior to last weekend, Tielemans had started every single league match this term. However, a muscle strain has prevented his involvement over the last fortnight. Manchester United loanee Rashford may have made his final appearance for the club after sustaining a hamstring issue last month.

It is the penultimate league fixture of a wretched domestic campaign for Tottenham. They occupy 17th position, although their progression into the Europa League final has softened that blow.

Ange Postecoglou is expected to field a weakened side, with the clash in Bilbao against Manchester United just five days away.

Three of their primary creative sources – Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski – are all unavailable. The latter was the most recent casualty, as he suffered a knee injury against Crystal Palace last weekend. Initial reports suggested it was merely a knock, but further tests revealed significant damage that required surgery.

Timo Werner was one of the players expected to benefit from the rotation, but his chance has been scuppered by a hamstring injury. Postecoglou confirmed captain Heung-min Son will feature in some capacity, as he aims to build up his match sharpness.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match preview and team news

Form

Aston Villa: WLLWW

Villa have recorded successive slender triumphs over Fulham and Bournemouth to propel themselves within touching distance of Champions League qualification.

Unai Emery’s side have displayed their ability to control matches in recent weeks, with consecutive clean sheets against strong opposition.

Ollie Watkins’ winner against Bournemouth last Saturday made Villa history. The Englishman is now their top scorer in the Premier League, surpassing Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Three points on the South Coast guaranteed the Villans a spot in Europe for a third straight season. Which competition they end up in remains to be seen, as the club could qualify for any of the three.

This evening marks a century of games in the Villa dugout for Emery, who will be hoping to celebrate the milestone with a crucial victory.

Spurs: LWDWL

It was a familiar outcome at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as Spurs fell to yet another league defeat.

Crystal Palace utterly dominated Ange Postecoglou’s side to inflict a twentieth loss of the season, their most in a single campaign during the Premier League era.

Tottenham can still mathematically finish as high as 13th position, but they seem destined to finish just above the relegation zone.

However, the narrative around their campaign can completely change next Wednesday. Spurs have the opportunity to qualify for Champions League football and simultaneously end their 17-year trophy drought by beating Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Last Meeting: Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup, 9th February 2025

In the last meeting, Aston Villa progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup at Tottenham’s expense.

It was a blistering start from the hosts, as they took the lead inside the opening two minutes.

Neat footwork from Morgan Rogers created the space for the youngster to feed Jacob Ramsey. The 23-year-old’s left-footed shot squirmed through the grasp of Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and into the back of the net. A moment to forget for the Czech stopper.

After sustained pressure from Villa, Tottenham captain Heung-min Son had a glorious opportunity to equalise. Mikey Moore found the unmarked South Korean inside the box, but Emiliano Martinez anticipated the sweeping effort and thwarted Son.

Midway through the second period, Unai Emery’s outfit deservedly doubled the advantage. Donyell Malen’s dangerous delivery across the box was desperately cleared by Pedro Porro. However, the ball fell at the feet of the alert Rogers and was smashed in from a few yards out.

Kinsky then kept his side in the tie shortly after with a strong save to deny Ramsey a second.

In the dying embers, Spurs managed to halve the deficit. Dejan Kulusevski’s searching cross was expertly prodded in by Mathys Tel, who netted his first goal for the Lilywhites. However, his moment of jubilation was short-lived as the full-time whistle echoed around Villa Park minutes later.

Villa eventually reached the semi-finals of the competition, where they were thrashed 3-0 by Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Predicted Lineups

Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Asensio, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.

Spurs: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Sarr; Odobert, Richarlison, Son.

Who is the referee?

Peter Bankes will be the match official. Eddie Smart and Nick Greenhalgh will assist him, while Tim Robinson will be the fourth official. James Bell will be on VAR duty, and Dan Cook will assist him.