Two sides that have had fairly unconvincing seasons meet at White Hart Lane on Sunday to finish off their respective campaigns, with nothing to play for apart from adding three points to their Premier League tally.
Aston Villa would have liked to had the record that Spurs had against teams in the bottom half of the table, while Spurs needed Villa’s stellar record against the top four to achieve their goal of Champions League qualification at the start of this season.
Team News
Younes Kaboul will miss the match through suspension. Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele may return for Spurs, but Kyle Walker, Etienne Capoue, Erik Lamela and Andros Townsend will miss the last game of the season.
Villa have a host of injuries, with Christian Benteke, Charles N’Zogbia, Libor Kozak and Jores Okore long-term concerns. Marc Albrighton and Gabby Agbonlahor may make the match-day squad.
Key Statistics
- Aston Villa have lost 5 of their last 6 away Premier League matches.
- Tottenham Hotspur have won 5 of their last 6 home Premier League matches.
- There have been at least three goals in Spurs’ last three home games.
- Emmanuel Adebayor has scored more goals against Aston Villa (6) than any other Premier League side.
- Spurs have won on the last day of the Premier League season in each of the last three campaigns – of which were all at White Hart Lane.
- Spurs are the only side not to have scored in the first 15 minutes of their Premier League games this season.
Key Players
Harry Kane
People may think, Harry Kane? Really? But in his last five appearances for Spurs, Harry Kane has proved his worth, from a striker to laugh at, to a striker that actually has a future in N17.
Emmanuel Adebayor has been hit-and-miss since it was reported in early April that Tim Sherwood would not be staying as Spurs manager beyond this season.
Sherwood’s decision to deploy Harry Kane just behind Adebayor in the last five games has resulted in the young England striker scoring three goals, averaging a goal every 136 minutes, taking in to account his four substitute appearances.
The 20-year old striker has an impressive chance conversion rate of 20%, but loses out to Andreas Weimann in the clear-cut chance conversion rate (22% to Weimann’s 38%.)
Harry Kane has scored more goals from open-play than his Spanish counterpart Roberto Soldado, highlighting what a poor season the former Valencia striker has had.
Andreas Weimann
Andreas Weimann has been the man for the big occasion. In their 3-2 win over Manchester City at Villa Park earlier this season, Weimann was the star of the show. Last weekend against Hull City was a huge match for Villa, a cup final occasion for Paul Lambert and the Villa players and fans. Andreas Weimann delivered two goals in that game to secure another Premier League campaign.
Villa have struggled for goals of late after losing their main striker in Christian Benteke to a long-term injury in a training session.
Weimann has had a fairly progressive season, scoring five goals and adding four assists to Villa’s cause, scoring a goal every 496 minutes and creating a chance every 78 minutes for Villa; creating a total of 32 chances for his side, and a chance conversion of 11%.
The 22-year old is a big part of Villa’s frontline future, but next season is vital to his development, and if he can hit the double figures in the Premier League season, Villa may have trouble keeping the Austrian winger.
