Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur
I asked earlier this week whether it will be a fab four or a famous five in terms of who will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Well, this Premier League encounter could well help us know that little bit more about who will claim the guaranteed spot by finishing fourth.
Currently, Aston Villa are in pole position.
They have a five point advantage of fifth placed Spurs, although the North Londoners do have a game in hand.
That means a home win this Sunday can cement their status in the box seat, while the visitors know victory in the Midlands can see them take control of their own fate.
Amidst that backdrop, there’s every reason to expect Premier League highlights.
Talking Points
Villa could be considered to be in something of a predicament right now, albeit a healthy one.
As Richard Sutherland of The Villa Park Podcast remarked this week, victory against Ajax over two legs would give the club a much clearer path to Europa Conference League glory and a trophy in the cabinet.
On the other hand, the game against Spurs feels like the showdown for a top-four spot and a place in the Champions League (a tournament Villa have never competed in), not to mention the key to significant financial bonuses, which would come in handy.
That became more prevalent this week when Villa published its finances for 2023 and confirmed a loss of just under £120 million, the highest in Europe according to UEFA.
Premier League rules say that clubs can lose a maximum of £105 million over a three-year period.
The latest accounts show that wages rose by nearly £60 million, and £63.7 million was spent on new players.
Despite the figures, the club says it is confident it’s operating within the Premier League’s spending rules.
On the pitch, Villa have players in form and a number of squad players coming back to fitness, so the ability to rotate will be available to manager Unai Emery.
After 21 goals and 10 assists in all competitions this season, including a double at Luton last weekend, Ollie Watkins will be their main threat.
For Spurs, their firepower was also on display as they scored a quick fire three goals against Crystal Palace.
The on-loan Timo Werner’s first goal for the club sparked the spell, with RB Leipzig converting from close range to level matters.
Having struggled for most of the game to create chances, Tottenham were suddenly rejuvenated and they went ahead three minutes later when Cristian Romero headed in before skipper Son Heung-Min completed the job with a typically clinical finish.
With both sides possessing genuine firepower, the winner of this contest could simply be the one that proves the most clinical.
With fourth place securing Champions League football next term, (fifth is only a possibility), there’s certainly no playing down the importance of this one, even in early March.
History
Two of the great English football institutions.
They first met in an FA Cup quarter-final in 1903 when Villa edged out the north Londoners by the odd goal in five.
That Spurs have won eight of their last 11 meetings shows how much Villa have been in the doldrums in recent years.
However, they secured a league double over them last season.
Villa beat them 2-0 on their own turf on New Year’s Day when second half goals from Emi Buendía and Douglas Luiz sealed the points.
Then at Villa Park in May, Jacob Ramsey and Luiz scored the goals in a 2-1 success with Harry Kane netting a late penalty for the Spurs consolation.
That was the same scoreline in November, on an afternoon when the football world remembered Terry Venables.
Giovani lo Celso’s deflected opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Pau Torres header deep into first-half added time before Watkins slotted in what was then his 12th goal of the season to seal Villa’s turnaround.
Overall, Spurs have triumphed in 77 of the games with Villa winning 60 and a further 36 draws.
Betting Tip
With Villa in action in Holland on Thursday night, Spurs should definitely be the fresher side going into the contest.
Not that it prevents the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds making the hosts slight favourites ahead of the Sunday afternoon encounter.
While Villa are priced 1X2 @ 2.27, Spurs are slightly adrift of that @ 2.56.
Two teams that like to go forward, and are accomplished attacking outfits, is reflected on odds of over 3.75 goals @ 2.26, as well as total goal 0-1 @ 5.70, 2-3 @ 2.22 and 4-6 @ 2.19.
A repeat of last season’s encounter – Correct Score 2-1? – will pay out @ 9.50.
Despite all of these attractive options, I am opting for honours even and an entertaining 1X2 Draw @ 3.71 – my ** tip.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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