Preview: Aston Villa – Spurs: Can AVB’s men bounce back from West Ham hammering?

Aston Villa – Tottenham

Date: Sunday 20th October

Venue: Villa Park

KO: 4pm

Tottenham visit Villa Park following their 3-0 dismantling at the hands of West Ham to face an Aston Villa team unbeaten in three games.

Team News: Aston Villa

There are still doubts over Christian Benteke’s fitness, but Paul Lambert is hopeful that he may feature after the Belgian was named on the bench for his country this week. Lambert said: “Our medical team spoke to theirs – as you do with every player – and everyone seems to have come back not too bad.”

Team News: Tottenham

Aaron Lennon could make his comeback from injury in time to play some part in this weekend’s game, whilst Danny Rose may also have recovered.

Recent Form:

Aston Villa have counterbalanced their run of three straight losses with a three game unbeaten run featuring two wins and a draw, a highlight the 3-2 triumph over Man City. Paul Lambert’s side have defeated two of the division’s biggest sides in Arsenal and City this season and Villans fans will be confident that they can make Tottenham their next scalp.

This is because Spurs’ good start to the 2013-14 season has come to a slight halt – the AVB train screeched to a stop when West Ham hit three past them and the Portuguese manager is searching for his first win in three games.

In the form table, Villa and Spurs are 10th and 11th respectively.

Players to Watch

Aston Villa: Andreas Weimann

With Benteke potentially not at peak fitness, it is up to Weimann to take the Belgian’s place as the focal point of Aston Villa’s attack. Indeed, the Austrian (151) actually has a higher Performance Score than Benteke (132) and Weimann has had the most number of shots on goal in the Villains’ squad with 18.

If he can lift his conversion rate of just 8.3%, the 22-year-old could be a lethal force in Lambert’s attack.

Tottenham: Andros Townsend

Following his brilliant performances for England, Townsend is the man at the forefront of every football fan’s thoughts. The pace which he injects into a game is one which can change the flow of a match instantly, and he possesses the joint-third highest Performance Score in Spurs’ squad with 207.

Furthermore, Townsend has completed the highest number of dribbles in the Premier League, a total of 33 – this is a percentage of 69% and shows just how dynamic the Englishman is.

Prediction

The contrasting form of the two teams, coupled with Aston Villa’s home advantage, makes it difficult to predict a Tottenham victory; perhaps the most likely outcome is a draw. However, Spurs’ superior quality could give them the victory which they need to get their season back on track following their quite frankly embarrassing defeat to West Ham last time out.

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