Premier League: Conte’s Boys can make it Four from Four

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur

The race for the top four is gathering pace and the Saturday tea-time fixture could well see a front runner emerging when Premier League: Aston Villa vs Spurs is the entertainment on offer.

Four teams are chasing the last Champions League spot, which Antonio Conte’s Whites currently hold, and the biggest threat may come from their nearest neighbours. Arsenal are in fifth, with a game in hand, and they have a home game against Brighton on Saturday. Sixth placed West Ham are away to Brentford while Manchester United have a winnable game away to Everton on Saturday where my SBOTOP colleague has predicted three points for the Red Devils.

But Conte will tell his players to concentrate on their own games and they have been going well in recent weeks. Spurs come into the game on the back of three consecutive victories, while Villa have suffered three defeats on the bounce and the pre-match Aston Villa vs Spurs betting odds suggest both trends will continue. The Whites are at a price of 2.23 to win while their hosts are at 2.97 and the draw is the least likely option at 3.20.   

I suspect Villa would be happy to stop the losing run, but a point would be little use for Spurs in their quest for a top four place. 

Talking Points

The Old Kane makes the New Spurs

A  game against Newcastle was a step into the unknown for Spurs, as the Magpies have been transformed since the Saudi backed takeover of the club. But the Whites totally dismantled the Geordies thanks to another masterful display from Harry Kane. The England captain seems to have undergone his own transformation, since the turn of the year, after a miserable first half of the campaign. Since January he has scored ten goals and made five assists, compared to two and one earlier in the campaign, and his huge improvement in form has made Spurs a team to be reckoned with again.

Kane isn’t just a goal scorer; he’s one of the best passers in the game, making 38 key passes this season, finding team-mates like Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura with his pin point accuracy from distance. The main man’s form and the successful integration of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur has given Spurs fans plenty to be happy about. They have a nice run-in with plenty of mid and lower table teams to face and this clash with Villa will give a good insight into their chances. If Spurs can avoid injuries to key players, they may have enough to hold off the competition.   

Villa can play without fear

2-1 defeats away to Wolves and West Ham, sandwiching a 1-0 home reversal against Arsenal, have left Aston Villa in 11^th place in the Premier League table, 15 points behind seventh placed Manchester United and, with 36 points in the bank, they are almost certainly safe. So head coach Stephen Gerard has an opportunity to begin his preparations for next season while hoping his players are not yet thinking about the beach. Until the last three games the Villains had an outside chance of European football, after the arrival of Philippe Coutinho gave the club a New Year spark. Gerard’s former Liverpool colleague has four goals from 11 appearances, as well as three assists, and he’s added a real touch of class to an already talented squad, with his 84 per cent pass completion.    

Striker Ollie Watkins, with eight goals, and midfielder Jacob Ramsay, who has six goals, have both shown promise of successful England careers while summer recruit Emiliano Buendia is an exciting player with a superb array of passing and the ability to split a defence.

Villa’s three defeats followed a run of three wins, over Leeds United, Southampton and Brighton with a goal difference of nine to nil, so this is a team which can dominate at both ends of the pitch when they are on form. It will be interesting to see how centre back Tyrone Mings copes with the attacking threat of Kane and co. He’s picked up nine yellow cards this season so the Spurs forwards can expect a tough afternoon from the England man, while wing back Matty Cash has proved effective at both ends of the pitch.

The fact they have little to worry about in terms of European qualification or relegation means that Villa can play without fear… and that can go either way. They might be dangerous or easier to play against, but Conte will count on neither.     

History

The head to head Aston Villa vs Spurs results have been well contested in Premier League times with the Whites winning 25 to Villa’s 15, and there have been 13 draws, in all competitions. Spurs have dominated the recent exchanges winning five of the last six, including a 2-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October.

Betting Tip

I’m backing Spurs to complete the double over a team which has plenty of talent but a lesser incentive than the Whites. Conte’s team will stay fourth…if they make it four wins from four.    

 

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