Team news ahead of Tottenham Hotspur

Unai Emery has confirmed Ollie Watkins is in contention to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The striker returned to Bodymoor Heath early from international duty after picking up a knock in England’s 3-0 win over Wales, a game in which he found the net.

And when asked about the striker’s availability for the Premier League tilt in North London, Emery offered the following update during his pre-match press conference.

“Tomorrow we will train again, and normally he will be ready for Sunday,” he said.

The Aston Villa manager was also asked about the fitness of Emi Buendía and Jadon Sancho after the former was forced off against Burnley last time out and the latter missed the past two matches.

Emery said: “Both of them are training normally the whole week, and they will be available for Sunday if they are training well tomorrow.”

Villa may be further boosted for their trip to the capital by the return of Tyrone Mings following a two-game absence, but his inclusion is dependent on how Saturday’s training session goes.

“He’s getting better, progressively,” Emery said.

“He’s training this week individually to add to us. Tomorrow we will see how he is.

“The idea tomorrow is for him to train with the team and, after the training session, to decide if he will travel with us or not to London.”