Tottenham Hotspur can escape the Premier League relegation zone with a win over Aston Villa at Villa Park this evening, a result that would also drop London rivals West Ham United into the bottom three.
Relegation stakes
Spurs currently occupy 18th place, the final relegation spot, and are two points adrift of 17th-placed West Ham. Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers have already been mathematically relegated to the Championship. Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham side suffered a 3-0 defeat at Brentford last time out, a result that means their survival is no longer entirely in their own hands. Should Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham beat Aston Villa, they would leapfrog West Ham into safety, pushing the Hammers into the relegation zone.
Spurs’ bid to climb clear was given a significant boost last weekend when they secured their first Premier League win of the calendar year — a 1-0 victory over already-relegated Wolves at Molineux. Joao Palhinha’s 82nd-minute strike ended a 15-game winless run in the league and earned De Zerbi his first victory since taking charge. That result briefly lifted spirits, but they were quickly dampened by West Ham’s dramatic 2-1 win over Everton, sealed by a stoppage-time Callum Wilson goal. However, the Hammers’ subsequent thrashing at Brentford has handed Tottenham a fresh opportunity to swing the relegation battle in their favour.
Match context and team news
Aston Villa go into the match fifth in the table, holding a seven-point lead over sixth-placed Brentford. Victory this evening would guarantee Unai Emery’s side qualification for next season’s Champions League. Villa are also preparing for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest in midweek, but Emery has warned his players to focus on the league fixture first. Villa boast a strong record in league matches following Europa League ties, and their manager has been widely praised for juggling European and domestic commitments.
Both sides are dealing with significant injury lists. For Villa, Amadou Onana has been ruled out after a scan, while Boubacar Kamara is a long-term absentee. Ross Barkley and Alysson are back in contention. Ollie Watkins remains Villa’s primary attacking threat. Tottenham’s absentee list is extensive: Dominic Solanke (hamstring), Guglielmo Vicario (surgery), Xavi Simons (ACL, out for the season), Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are all unavailable. James Maddison is not fit to start but may be named on the bench for his leadership. There is better news on Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr, who should return to the squad. Richarlison and match-winner Palhinha are key players for Spurs.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Tottenham
The match kicks off at 7pm BST at Villa Park. In the UK, it will be televised live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 6pm. It is also available on TNT Sports Ultimate. Subscribers can stream the game live via the HBO Max app and website, following the integration of TNT Sports into the HBO Max platform (account linking required). Radio coverage is provided by TalkSPORT. Highlights will appear on the TNT Sports Football YouTube channel and HBO Max, as well as on BBC One’s Match of the Day from 10.30pm and the BBC Sport website. Standard Sport will also run a live blog with expert analysis from Sam Tabuteau.
