Tottenham vs Aston Villa - Match Preview

Venue: White Hart Lane Kick-Off: 3pm 16th placed Aston Villa make the trip down to London having drawn their last match 1-1 at home to West Brom. After a stuttering start, it appears that the Villa players are starting to come round to Paul Lambert's style of play and seem to have turned a corner after the humiliating defeat they suffered at the hands of Southampton. However the apparent fall out between Lambert and star striker Darren Bent is unlikely to have a positive effect on the rest of the team, added to which the continuing fall-out between Paul Lambert and old club Norwich City can also be classed as bad timing. Tottenham, meanwhile, having drawn 1-1 in Greece during the week in the Europa League, are likely to be raring to go after their 3-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend. With rumours of player unrest towards Andres Villas-Boas, the victory will have silenced a few critics, at least for the time being. Since the opening day of the season, Spurs find themselves on an eight match unbeaten streak that has featured four wins and four draws in all competitions.

Team News

Tottenham are likely to recall 'keeper Brad Friedel after Hugo Lloris stood in for the Europa League game against Panathinaikos, and manager Andre Villas-Boas can also welcome back fit-again striker Emmanuel Adebayor who has recovered from a hamstring injury. He will however be without Kyle Naughton (foot), Scott Parker (Achilles), Jake Livermore (groin), Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul (both knee) who are all unavailable. Villa manager Paul Lambert is still without Stephen Ireland and Richard Dunne, and his biggest decision is likely to be whether or not to recall Darren Bent who came off the bench to snatch a point against West Brom last week.

Likely Line-Ups

Tottenham (4-4-2): Friedel; Walker, Caulker, Gallas, Vertonghen; Lennon, Sandro, Dembele, Bale; Defoe, Dempsey. Aston Villa (4-4-2): Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Bennett; Holman, Delph, El Ahmadi, Albrighton; Benteke, Bent. Referee: Neil Swarbrick Prediction: 3-1 Unfortunately for the Villains and their travelling fans, they have yet to win on the road this season in the league, and it is extremely doubtful that the run will end against Tottenham.