Preview: Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur - prediction, team news, lineups

On opposite ends of 1-0 scorelines during their most recent encounters, Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and relegation-battling Tottenham Hotspur meet at Villa Park in Sunday's Premier League contest.

The Lions return to domestic action after a narrow loss to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, while Spurs' one-goal triumph at Wolverhampton Wanderers saw the Lilywhites belatedly win a Premier League game in 2026.

Match preview

In between Joao Palhinha's close-range winner against Wolves and Callum Wilson's last-gasp strike for West Ham United against Everton, Tottenham fans rejoiced in the best four minutes of their Premier League season in 2026 - four minutes in which their side were out of the relegation zone.

The Irons' dramatic 2-1 victory over the Toffees means that it is still as you were in the Premier League table, where the 18th-placed Lilywhites are two points below Nuno Espirito Santo's side, but the flicker of survival hope for Spurs is now shining that little bit brighter.

Four points from their last two Premier League games is as many as the visitors had managed in their previous 13 top-flight matches before that, and Roberto De Zerbi's playing style is already having a major impact; Spurs are averaging more pressed sequences and possession won in the final third per game than they did under Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor.

Consigning their 15-game Premier League winless run to history, Tottenham can now earn back-to-back top-flight victories for just the second time this season, after overcoming Burnley and Manchester City during the opening two gameweeks of the campaign.

Furthermore, only six teams have collected more Premier League points on the road than Tottenham this season, as the Lilywhites have won 23 of their 34 on rival territory; eerily, they have also scored and conceded 23 goals away from home too.

Unable to replicate Tottenham's 1-0 away win in either the Premier League or Europa League, Aston Villa enter gameweek 35 at risk of suffering three straight losses in all tournaments - a fate that has not befallen them once in the current season.

Ex-Spurs full-back Ryan Sessegnon made the telling contribution in last weekend's top-flight reverse to Fulham, before Chris Wood's spot kick put Forest ahead at half time in their Europa League semi-final, which resumes in front of a fervent Villa Park atmosphere next Thursday night.

The Lions' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via Europa League success now hinge on a second-leg comeback, but as the hosts are eight points clear of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, a top-five finish could be sealed on Sunday.

Indeed, Villa will be guaranteed to play in the 2026-27 Champions League if they beat Tottenham, Brighton drop points against Newcastle United and Bournemouth fail to beat Crystal Palace, and their four-game winning run on home soil stands them in very good stead.

Coincidentally, the Villans have also prevailed in each of their last four matches against Tottenham across all competitions, including a pair of 2-1 away triumphs in the league and FA Cup earlier this season.

Aston Villa Premier League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Team News

Even though Tottenham won at Wolves, it would not have been a Spurs game in 2026 without some kind of disaster striking, and last weekend's devastating moment was Xavi Simons suffering a season-ending and World Cup-crushing ACL injury.

The Dutchman - whose serious problem comes just as he was beginning to thrive in De Zerbi's system - is one of two fresh blows for the Lilywhites, who have also lost Dominic Solanke to a hamstring concern that could rule him out for the rest of the season too.

Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee), Cristian Romero (knee), Ben Davies (ankle) and Guglielmo Vicario (hernia) remain on the sidelines, but Destiny Udogie - absent at Molineux with a knock - is at least back in contention.

Also beset by a fresh injury setback, Aston Villa lost Amadou Onana to a calf injury against Forest on Thursday evening, just a few days after the midfielder was forced to miss the defeat to Fulham with a knee concern.

Emery has confirmed that the Belgian will be absent on Sunday, although he could not offer a recovery timeline, while Boubacar Kamara (knee) is the hosts' only other injury worry.

With a top-five finish almost set in stone, Emery may choose to prioritise the Europa League and reshuffle his resources on Sunday, offering starts to the likes of Ian Maatsen, Jadon Sancho and Onana's likely replacement Lamare Bogarde.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Tielemans, Bogarde; Bailey, Rogers, Sancho; Watkins

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison

We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

The losses of Solanke and Simons may not prove fatal for Tottenham, as the former's replacement Richarlison is on 13 goal contributions for the Premier League season, and Spurs have evidently been galvanised by De Zerbi's methods.

As Villa have one eye on the Europa League and have been found wanting in front of goal in their last two games, the visitors could claim a hard-earned point, albeit one that will not be enough to drag them to safety.

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