Looking to bounce back from the Boxing Day defeat to Liverpool, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa head to the capital to face Tottenham Hotspur. Here is the latest ahead of this matchweek 17 fixture…
THE BUILD UP
It was a first defeat in the Premier League for Unai Emery at his new club as JΓΌrgen Klopp’s Reds stole all three points at Villa Park. A well-worked goal from Mohammed Salah and an own goal from Ezri Konsa put the the away side two goals up at the break. Ollie Wakins halved the deficit on the 60-minute mark, but young substitute Stefan BajΔetiΔ made it 3-1 with ten to go.
Tottenham played Brentford in Boxing Day’s early game. The Bees were two to the good after 55 minutes thanks to goals from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney but a late Spurs surge spared Antonio Conte’s blushes, with Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile HΓΈjbjerg scoring as the game finished 2-2.
Aston Villa remain in 12th on 18 points heading into the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs stay just inside the top four on 30 points. Both sides will hope they can enter the new year in good form with a victory on Sunday.
Three points for The Villans could catapult them into the top half of the table, whereas a win for Spurs will keep them in the UEFA Champions League places and above Manchester United who are breathing down their necks and just a point behind in fifth.
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Goalkeeper Emi MartΓnez is expected to start the upcoming game in north London. The No.1 has been away celebrating his nation’s World Cup title win in both capital city Buenos Aires and hometown Mar del Plata, but reports state that he returned home this morning to train with the rest of the squad at Bodymoor Heath ahead of the weekend’s game.
Robin Olsen racked up his first 90 minutes in the league since the final day contest versus Manchester City last season, but is likely to drop back to the bench this weekend.
Philippe Coutinho returned to action with five minutes to go against Liverpool, making his first appearance in claret and blue since the 4-0 defeat at St James Park at the end of October. The Brazilian will hope to work his way back into the starting eleven and become a part of Unai Emery’s plans in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, Jacob Ramsey is likely to miss the game as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury picked up during the club’s trip to Dubai. The 21-year-old midfielder is hopeful of returning for the FA Cup third round tie at home to Stevenage next week.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Antonio Conte will welcome midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur back to the match-day side this week after missing the trip to the Brentford Community Stadium through injury and suspension. The former Juventus man tore his adductor muscle in his right leg whilst representing Uruguay at the World Cup action but was unavailable regardless having picked up to many yellow cards prior to the action in Qatar.
Forward Richarlison will be Tottenham’s sole absentee this week. The former Everton forward injured his hamstring in the warm-up of Brazil’s quarter-final tie against Croatia and is expected to miss up to six weeks worth of action as a result.
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A BIT ON TOTTENHAM
Antonio Conte joined Spurs in November 2021 and led his side to a fourth place finish last season, ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal. Nuno EspΓrito Santo began the previous campaign in charge but after an underwhelming start to the term, the former Wolves boss was relieved of his duties after just four months.
Tottenham remain in fourth after 16 games played of the 2022/23 campaign, but Conte’s future at the club is uncertain. The 53-year-old coach’s contract runs out in the summer and hasn’t yet responded to a contract extension offered by the board in recent weeks. The 2016/17 UEFA Champions League winner is understood to be delaying a decision due to uncertainty over transfer assurances and financial backing.
The general consensus among Spurs fans is that the club must make at least two signings in the upcoming January transfer window. With an emphasis on defensive improvement, the likes of Sporting CP’s Pedro Porro and Slovakian centre-back Milan Ε kriniar are possible candidates and names being linked with a move to the white side of north London.
On the face of it, January could be a crucial month for The Lilywhites with repercussions regarding performances on the pitch and Conte’s future weighing in the balance. The pressure on ENIC group will be at an all time high heading into the new year – can they get it right for the Spurs fans?
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PREDICTED LINE-UP
Let’s take a look at Liam’s predicted line-up ahead of the final fixture of 2022…
Do you agree? Who makes your side?
Have your own attempt by accessing the following link: https://utvpodcast.co.uk/line-up-selector/.
AUTHOR | LIAM DAVIES
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