Tottenham Hotspur will be seeking a winning start on the first day of 2023 when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Tottenham will look to continue their momentum in the top flight, but Aston Villa will try to disrupt their way with a second away victory under Unai Emery at stake for the Midlands outfit.
Spurs came from behind to lodge a 2-2 draw with Brentford following their return to action after an elongated World Cup break. They have been pretty shaky of late, and Antonio Conte’s priority will be to widen the gap between themselves, and Manchester United who are closing in with a game in hand.
Tottenham’s difficulties have already seen them being linked with several players. And Conte will be given full freedom to choose from his favourite set of players. With the Premier League title challenge slowly vapouring away, the north Londoners will focus more on cementing their place in the top four. And a positive result against Aston Villa would ease the burden off Tottenham.
Unai Emery has had a pretty good start on his Premier League return as wins over Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion set the course. But a defeat to Liverpool earlier this week broke their streak.
Aston Villa do have all the necessary resources to inflict an unlikely loss to Tottenham. And in his previous stint with Arsenal, the Spaniard proved his credentials in the North London Derby. Perhaps the time has come for Emery to repeat those feats.
Team News & Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 30, 2022
Following the draw with Brentford, there could be some shuffling in the starting lineup. Antonio Conte will not digest more errors as grave mistakes could cost Tottenham Hotspur a place in the top four.
Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero are back in the equation after they faced off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. And the duo could be back in contention for a place in the eleven. But Richarlison and Lucas Moura are yet to report for training due to their respective injury issues.
Lloris will jump straight into the goal, with the French international dislodging Fraser Forster from the goal. Romero should be fit to feature in the backline alongside Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet.
Matt Doherty started the last match, and he will be stationed on the right side of the Tottenham defence. Ivan Perisic has another World Cup medal to his name, and the Croat has always been the preferred choice in the left wing-back role.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s injury will keep him away from the team. So Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Yves Bissouma will be paired in the midfield. Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min will join the attack from the right and left wings, respectively. Finally, Harry Kane will try to add to his 13 goals in the top flight.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez is back at Villa Park following his World Cup heroics, and he will be facing some familiar faces. Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings will be dealing with Harry Kane & co. And they cannot afford to shift their focus elsewhere.
Look who's back. 👀
🇦🇷 @EmiMartinezz1 pic.twitter.com/fbwALBkRyV
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 30, 2022
Lucas Digne and Matty Cash will be supporting their attackers from their respective full-back positions. Boubacar Kamara will try to lay down his authority from the deepest midfield position.
Douglas Luiz and John McGinn will have the responsibility to spray out balls to their attacking teammates ahead of them. Emiliano Buendia will try to invade Spurs’ attacking third from the right flank, while Leon Bailey will showcase his talent from the left side. Ollie Watkins will lead the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Luiz, Kamara, McGinn; Buendia, Watkins, Bailey
Key Stats
- Tottenham have won 12 of their last 14 Premier League games against Aston Villa (L2), as many as they had in their first 40 against them in the competition (D15 L13).
- Aston Villa have lost each of their last five Premier League games in London, conceding at least twice each time. Meanwhile, they jave not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 league visits to the capital, since beating Arsenal 3-0 in November 2020.
- Tottenham have won seven of their last eight Premier League games on New Year’s Day, the exception being a 1-0 loss at Southampton in 2020.
- Tottenham have conceded the first goal, and also conceded at least twice in each of their last six Premier League games. They last had a longer streak of conceding first in November 2010 (7 games), while they last conceded 2+ goals in more consecutive league games in November 1988 (8 games).
- Harry Kane has scored six headed goals in the Premier League this season, more than any other player. That is his joint-most headers scored in a single campaign (also six in 2017/18), while his 36 headed goals overall is the joint sixth most in Premier League history.
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
Harry Kane has been a lone warrior for Tottenham Hotspur in the last few seasons. And he has not stopped scoring for them this term. In the ongoing campaign, he has emerged as their main source of goals, and you can never put a doubt on his ability given his recent form.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Aston Villa
Clean sheet could be hard to come by for Tottenham, as Aston Villa have a number of potent attackers at their disposal. But the return of Cristian Romero should tighten their grip in the backline, and The Hard Tackle is predicting a 2-0 win for Tottenham.
