At A Glance
European hopes are on the line when Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur meet at Villa Park on Saturday.
The hosts are hoping to move level with the Londoners after falling three points behind in the race for a top-seven finish.
Following two defeats on their travels, Unai Emery’s team are trying to secure a sixth consecutive win on home turf.
That sequence of victories has been secured without a single goal being conceded.
Spurs, under the guidance of interim boss Ryan Mason, ended a four-game winless run with a 1-0 success against Crystal Palace last time out.
Harry Kane scored the winner on that occasion, highlighting his threat once again with his 26th league goal of the campaign.
Standout Stats
Villa's only home victory in their past 15 competitive home games versus Spurs was by 2-1 in the Premier League on New Year's Day 2008 (D4, L10).
Tottenham have won eight consecutive away matches against Aston Villa in all competitions by an aggregate score of 23-3.
However, the Villans have won two of the past four meetings and can complete a first league double over Tottenham since 1995/96.
Spurs are winless in eight away games in all competitions since a 3-0 victory at Preston North End in the FA Cup fourth round on 28 January (D2, L6).
Villa will guarantee a top-10 Premier League finish for the first time in 12 years if they avoid defeat or if Chelsea fail to beat Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham have only taken two points from seven league games outside of London since a 3-2 triumph at Bournemouth on 29 October.
A 17th top-flight win of the season on Saturday would be the most Villa have recorded since 2009/10.
Villa have earned five Premier League home wins in a row for the first time in 25 years. Their most recent longer streak spanned seven games from December 1992 to February 1993.
Son Heung-min has scored five league goals in just two appearances at Villa Park, including a hat-trick last season. No player has scored six Premier League away goals against Villa.
Villa are vying to equal the club league record of six consecutive home clean sheets, set from November 1970 to February 1971 in the third tier.
Spurs ended a run of four matches without a win by beating Crystal Palace 1-0 last weekend. It was their first clean sheet in 10 league fixtures.
Unai Emery is unbeaten in all four Premier League meetings with Spurs but his Arsenal side did lose to them in a 2018 League Cup quarter-final.
Harry Kane has scored in four successive Premier League away matches and in 23 games in the division this season, one short of the record in a 38-game campaign set by Mo Salah in 2017-18.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa produced a polished away display on New Year’s Day to start 2023 in the perfect way.
Emiliano Buendía opened the scoring after 50 minutes before Douglas Luiz doubled the lead later in the half.
A strong defensive effort ensured Robin Olsen was rarely troubled in the visitors’ goal as Villa secured a clean sheet.
Team News
Unai Emery has a near fully-fit squad to choose from after Matty Cash was declared ready to return.
Only long-term absentee Jed Steer is unavailable for the Villans.
Clement Lenglet is expected to be fit for Spurs after suffering a shoulder problem.
Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Bentancur remain out.
The Boss
“We are very excited. We are deserving of this opportunity because the last five matches at home we have won, and those 15 points have helped us to be here playing at home with our supporters on Saturday being three points behind Tottenham. We’re playing against a very good team. Everyone wants to enjoy this moment, wants to play in this match, and wants to be together in Villa Park for 90 minutes on Saturday and have a very, very good day.”
Unai Emery
