Aston Villa v Spurs: e-Football Preview

Article by Ed Hewings

Villa will be boosted by the return of Christian Benteke for the visit of Spurs this weekend; whilst he may not be completely fit following the hip flexor injury he suffered against Norwich, a partially fit Benteke on the bench is better than no Benteke at all. The worry that Marc Wilmots would pick him to play for the national team in their games against Croatia and Wales did not materialise due to the continued excellent form of Romelu Lukaku, and so he will not have done any additional damage during his recovery period. Other than this, Villa have no fresh injury worries, with those involved during the international period returning to Villa Park unscathed. Charles NZogbia is still sidelined by the Achilles injury he picked up over the summer, and Jores Okore is out for the season with the cruciate injury picked up in the game against Liverpool. Apart from this, Villa have a fully fit squad to choose from.

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With Villa unbeaten in the last three league games, they will come into this game high on confidence, despite the 4-0 defeat Spurs handed out to an injury ravaged Villa side in the Capital One Cup a few weeks ago.However, the same cannot be said for Spurs. On the back of a 3-0 defeat to a Ravel Morrison inspired West Ham, the onus will be on Spurs to a) get back on track in pursuit of glory this season and b) to prove to the fans that the result was just a blip. They have no fresh injury worries, and with Andros Townsend high on confidence after his excellent week on debut for England, they have an additional string to their multi-talented attacking bow. Their recent history against Villa has been excellent, with the last three games in all competitions resulting in an aggregate 10-0 scoreline. The reverse fixture last season saw a Gareth Bale hat-trick in a 4-0 win for Spurs.

This is a tough game to call. Villa have been good against the bigger teams this season, snatching wins from Arsenal and Man City, and being defeated by the narrowest of margins against Chelsea and Liverpool, despite outplaying their illustrious opponents for periods of the game. However they have struggled without Benteke, yet having him even back on the bench could be the boost that they need to rifle the goals in.

Spurs have been good in defence (barring last Sunday's disaster), and sparkling in attack with new signing Christian Eriksen looking truly outstanding. They will be looking to get their season back on track, and against a Villa side that has struggled at home for the past few seasons, they will view it as the perfect opportunity.

Prediction : Aston Villa 1 Spurs 2

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