Tottenham Hotspur FC
Aston Villa FC
Aston Villa FC
Spurs aiming to secure European spot against out-of-sorts Aston Villa
Tottenham to win 3-1
Tottenham’s challenge to finish in a European position has been going well of late, with their strong home form propelling them into 6th place right now, though with little chance of rising any higher.
Since Mourinho’s sacking, Ryan Mason has done a reasonable job of steadying the ship, ensuring that Spurs pick up enough points and win the games that a club of their size should.
While he is unlikely to be given the job on a permanent basis, it has done his reputation no harm at all. If he can steer Spurs to a top six finish, that would be a reasonably good end to the season, and ensure that they have Europa League football to look forward to next year.
As for Aston Villa, any hope they had of reaching a European spot died a long time ago, with Jack Grealish’s injury their lack of creativity and leadership without him.
Can they end their season on a high?
Form Guide (all comps): WLWLW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Home form has been strong recently
Beat Villa 2-0 in their previous meeting
Reasons to be fearful:
Kane has made his desire to leave clear this week
Full backs Serge Aurier and Ben Davies could miss out through injury
Tottenham have won three of the four games for which Ryan Mason has been in charge, and they will been eager to continue that run for the remainder of the season.
Whether Harry Kane will be at the club next season is another question, however. As reported in the press this week, it appears as though he has made his decision to leave, something which would be a huge disappointment to the club and their fans.
That isn’t stopping him from performing well right now, though. He has 22 goals this season, level with Mo Salah as the leading goalscorer, and will want to put in another good performance here.
Spurs have won the last six meetings with Villa across all competitions, and with their home form as strong as it is, could claim another here.
Star Man – Harry Kane
Continues to score at a remarkable rate and will be eyeing the games against Villa and Leicester as his opportunity to claim the Golden Boot.
Form Guide (all comps): DWLDL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Jack Grealish should be fit enough to start here
Tyrone Mings looks to have shaken off injury concern
Reasons to be fearful:
Defence has been poor over the past couple of months
Poor record against Spurs
At the turn of the year, Villa appeared destined for a European place at the end of the season.
On New Year’s Day, they were 5th – three points behind 4th place Everton and with a game in hand too. A month later, Jack Grealish is injured and misses the following 12 league games, effectively ending any hope of finishing in a top six position.
At this rate, Villa are unlikely to finish in the top half, and have won just once in their last seven games. Grealish has now returned, although he is unlikely to cure the problems they have been facing at the back.
They’ve conceded 17 goals in their last 10 games. Against Spurs, they will need to be much tighter in order to stand any chance.
Star Man – Jack Grealish
Villa’s best player should finally be fit enough to start. He can turn a game on its head in a flash and will need to be at his best to get past Spurs.
Spurs have the better attackers
Can Grealish influence the game?
Could be an attractive game to watch
Both Spurs and Villa pride themselves on playing attractive football and, with both sides needing a win to end the season positively, should go for it here.
With Kane on a mission to finish as the league’s top scorer, and Jack Grealish desperate to make an impact to get into the England squad, there could be goals.
Tottenham to win 3-1
