Tottenham vs Aston Villa predictions: Villans to dispatch injury-hit Spurs
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- Spurs could be without 12 players due to injury and suspension
- Villa have won five of their last six matches across all competitions
- Recommended bet: Aston Villa to win
Aston Villa will be hoping to move into the Champions League positions when they take on Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Tottenham's fantastic start to the campaign has been checked after defeats to Chelsea and Wolves, and injuries picked up to key players have exposed their thin squad.
Villa have been on the charge in recent weeks to climb to fifth in the standings, just one point and a place behind Spurs heading into Sunday's meeting.
Team news
Tottenham have a lengthy injury list that includes James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Manor Solomon and Ryan Sessegnon, who are all sidelined until January, while Ivan Perisic is expected to miss the rest of the campaign after ACL surgery.
Ashley Phillips is missing for a "little while" after picking up an ankle issue, while Pape Matar Sarr also sustained an injury during the international break and is a doubt for this clash.
Richarlison is not expected back until the middle of December and there are doubts over Destiny Udogie's availability due to a muscle problem.
Spurs are also missing the suspended pair of Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma.
Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, John McGinn, Leon Bailey and Nicolo Zaniolo are all expected to overcome knocks for Villa and be in the matchday squad.
Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings are both out for the season due to knee injuries.
The stats
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After going unbeaten in their first 10 top-flight games, Tottenham have lost back-to-back matches against Chelsea (4-1) and Wolves (2-1).
These defeats have coincided with the injuries picked up by midfielder Maddison and centre-back van de Ven, who are both out of action until January.
Maddison has eight goal contributions in his 11 league outings this term, scoring three and assisting five.
Villa have won five of their last six matches across all competitions and have suffered just one defeat from their last nine outings — a surprise 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest.
The Villans have beaten Spurs in the last two meetings, winning 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January this year and then 2-1 in the West Midlands in May.
Prediction
Tottenham's squad is threadbare right now due to a host of injuries, and the suspensions of both Romero and Bissouma have further limited the options available to Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs need January to come around quickly, as they should get some of their absentees back and can also delve into the market to bring in some reinforcements.
However, for the time being, Tottenham will need to dig deep to pick up results and they may struggle to contain a confident Villa side in Saturday's contest.
While Unai Emery's side have not been perfect away from home, they head into this clash in fantastic form and should be able to take advantage of a weakened Spurs squad.
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