Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa Betting Preview
This game is Saturday’s evening kickoff in the Premier League as it was for the last weekend in November when this weekend’s fixture list was reversed.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham were made to work hard for their victory on Wednesday night in the FA Cup over Leeds. I had full faith in the result (and backed Tottenham in a rare FA Cup bet) even after Leeds had equalised. The bookmakers had this feeling too, despite starting the odds at 4/5 on Tottenham, they only went narrowly above evens at half time (11/10) with the scores level. Jermain Defoe rounded the game off with a hattrick after missing a handful of chances in the first half. David Bentley had a great game down the right wing, and I will be keen to see if he starts this game and if he plays well again too. Stephen Warnock is a solid left back in his way. The defence is looking much better now with Michael Dawson playing well in the middle of it. They have kept clean sheets in their last 4 Premier League home games but face a tough challenge to extend that against an Aston Villa side who are dangerous on their travels. Jermain Defoe has scored a few times against Aston Villa recently, but it was Dawson who scored when these two drew 1-1 at Villa Park earlier this season.
Last 5 games
LDWDW
Injuries/Suspensions
Aaron Lennon
Jonathan Woodgate
Carlo Cudicini
Aston Villa
A first half brace from Gabriel Agbonlahor secured 3 points for Aston Villa at Craven Cottage last weekend. Solid defending secured back-to-back clean sheets for Aston Villa who have restored their fight for fourth spot. Injuries to John Carew continue to give Emile Heskey opportunities up front. In 18 league appearances he has just 2 goals. And only 1 assist. If they want goals they will be looking at Agbonlahor again. James Milner has gone quiet since Christmas and needs to find his form if he wants to be on the plane to South Africa in the summer. And so does Ashley Young. I thought a couple of goals in the cup might spur him on, but he is still without a league goal since early November. His only good performance I know of in the league since then was in their goalless draw with Arsenal. Being the visitors, Aston Villa will play their usual gameplan of sitting back and then hitting their opposition on the break. Harry Redknapp will be wary of that, but hopefully this doesn’t make for a dull chess match.
Last 5 games
DWWDW
Injuries/Suspensions
Nigel Reo-Coker
Wilfried Bouma
5 of the last 9 meetings between these two sides have ended in a draw. The other 4 have been settled by the odd goal with both sides winning one at home and one away. I certainly expect another tight match between these two sides, both pushing for a top four finish. Villa, already 2 points behind Spurs cannot afford to lose this and Martin O’Neill will make his side hard to break down. They have a solid pair in Richard Dunne and James Collins to keep both Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch at bay. Set pieces and long range shots may be the key to this game, but I see this ending up as a draw.
Best bet: Draw 12/5
Tottenham to win 6/5
Aston Villa to win 11/4
