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Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur Preview | Team News, Stats and Key Men

This weekend features two of the Premier League form table’s bottom four clubs when Aston Villa and Tottenham battle it out in the late Sunday kick-off.

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Aston Villa’s form has been nothing short of appalling, failing to win or score in any of the five matches since they defeated Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield. The team is ravaged by injuries to some of their key players and so this game could be another less than savoury experience for Paul Lambert’s side.

Tottenham have suffered from similarly bad form, winning just one of their last seven games. Mauricio Pochettino has led Spurs to their worst start to a league season since 2008 and given the previous record of Daniel Levy’s managerial appointments, the Argentine may be looking over his shoulder.

Having said that, Spurs will no doubt fancy their chances against this Villa side and will hope to move level of points with the top 10 with a victory.

Team News

Paul Lambert confirmed in his press conference that Philippe Senderos, Alan Hutton and Fabian Delph are all out of this game with injuries. Nathan Baker might be able to return in time but there is good news for Villa fans in that Andreas Weimann should be available after picking up a knock against Queens Park Rangers last week.

Nabil Bentaleb and Aaron Lennon are still unavailable for Tottenham but Kyle Walker could return from injury in time to face Aston Villa. Spurs have no other injury concerns in their side.

Interesting Statistics

  • Aston Villa have lost five successive league games without scoring for the first time in their history.
  • They have only won one and lost the rest of their last 11 meetings with London sides.
  • Villa haven’t beat Tottenham since September, 2008.
  • Should Tottenham lose this game, it will be the first time they have lost three league games in a row since November, 2012.
  • This is Spurs’ worst start to the league since 2008-09 when Juande Ramos was sacked as manager after just eight games.
  • Tottenham have won their last five games against Aston Villa, scoring 15 goals and conceding none.

Key Players

Agbonlahor statsAston Villa – Gabriel Agbonlahor

It is a sorry state of affairs when Agbonlahor is one of the best strikers your club have but that is exactly the situation for Villa. The striker has played in eight of Villa’s nine league games this season and has scored two goals for the club in that time. According to Squawka.com, he has attempted just six shots at goal, although he does have a shooting accuracy of 67%. Likewise, he has only managed to create two chances for his team-mates, none of which have amounted to an assist. He does have a passing accuracy of 77% but on the other hand, he has only managed to win 37% of his overall duels. This consists of nine successful take-ons, but only two successful headed duels and tackles respectively. Agbonlahor has the potential to make life difficult for Tottenham but he would have to be on the top of his game.

Chadli statsTottenham Hotspur – Nacer Chadli

Despite Tottenham’s poor season, Chadli has been one of their best players and has provided at least one glimmer of hope for their fans. He has made eight appearances this season and has scored four league goals so far. According to Squawka.com, he has created 11 chances for his team-mates and has assisted one of their goals. He has attempted 260 passes so far and has managed to complete 86% of them. However, while he has found more success than his Villa counterpart, Chadli has still only managed to win 45% of his overall duels. Unlike Agbonlohor however, Chadli has won nine of the 14 tackles he has attempted half of the headed duels he has been involved in. If he can replicate this level of performance against Villa on Sunday, then there is no reason why he can’t lead his side to victory.

Betting

Villa and Tottenham have both had their disciplinary problems on the pitch so far this season. If you think Tottenham will pick up more yellow cards on Sunday, then why not put a bet on that happening at odds of 1.8 with Tailorbet? You can do this, here.

Prediction

Both teams have been in woeful form lately but looking at the two individually, I have to favour Tottenham’s chances for the victory. I think they will win the match 1-0.

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