Tottenham Vs Aston Villa: Match thread

chrissivad · Oct 1, 2010

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Tottenham Hotspur Vs Aston Villa

Barclays Premier League
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Saturday, 2 October Kick-off: 1500 BST

Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio, Final Score & highlights on Match of the Day

For more on live coverage please visit Geez's Live Media Thread
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Clash of sides chasing Champions League spot

Spurs host Aston Villa on Saturday in a clash of sides chasing a coveted UEFA Champions League spot via the top-flight.

Harry Redknapp's side secured fourth place last term and are now enjoying the elite European competition, seeing off FC Twente 4-1 at White Hart Lane in midweek.

That was a welcome return to winning ways after the 4-1 reverse to arch-rivals Arsenal in the Carling Cup and a 1-0 league defeat to West Ham.

The Spurs boss will be aiming to build on the victory as his eighth-placed side seek to not lose further ground at the top of the table.
Opponents Villa occupy fifth spot - two points ahead of Spurs - after their 2-1 derby success at Wolves last time out.

It marked a perfect return to the Premier League for new boss Gerard Houllier after six years away following his Liverpool exit.

Houllier also saw his side beat Blackburn in the Carling Cup in his first game in charge and the French tactician will be looking to continue the
momentum as he seeks to improve on predecessor Martin O'Neill's sixth-placed top-flight finish for the last three seasons.

Team news

Spurs will once again check on the fitness of captain Ledley King before deciding on their line-up.

King overcame problems with his groin and notoriously fragile knees to skipper the side in Wednesday night's thrashing of Twente.

Should he start this weekend, he will once again be partnered by Sebastien Bassong, with William Gallas (groin) and Younes Kaboul (hamstring) both still missing.

Rafael van der Vaart was sent off against the Dutch champions but is not suspended domestically so should continue in midfield.

Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes came back into the side for the Champions League victory after more than a month out with a groin injury and should retain his place.

But long-term absentees Jermain Defoe, Michael Dawson (both ligament damage), Jamie O'Hara (back) and Jonathan Woodgate (groin) remain on the sidelines.

For Villa, Richard Dunne is back in contention after recovering from a knee injury.

The Republic of Ireland international missed the Carling Cup clash with Blackburn and the league derby at Wolves but has returned to training this week after undergoing a scan.

But Dunne has to see whether new boss Houllier will hand him an instant recall or keep faith with the James Collins-Carlos Cuellar partnership.
With Dunne's return to fitness, Ciaran Clark is unlikely to be involved, despite recovering from a dead leg.

Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is the main fitness worry for the trip with a groin injury, while Emile Heskey will be looking to score for the third successive match after being revitalised since the arrival of Houllier.

The French tactician is also hopeful fellow striker John Carew, who has been suffering a back problem, will be in contention for the trip.

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Ledley King's ongoing knee problem is likely to prevent the Tottenham captain from playing a second match in three days after featuring against FC Twente.

Vedran Corluka and Sebastien Bassong will therefore be paired in central defence, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto could feature at left-back.
Aston Villa pair John Carew and Richard Dunne have recovered from back and knee injuries respectively.

Gabriel Agbonlahor misses out and must undergo a minor groin operation.

Tottenham
Doubtful: King (knee)
Injured: Dawson (knee & ankle), Defoe (ankle), Gallas & Woodgate (both groin), Kaboul (hamstring), O'Hara (back)

Aston Villa
Injured: Agbonlahor (groin), Delph (knee), Weimann (ankle)

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Having given plenty against Twente, can Tottenham summon the energy to vanquish Villa and reassert their top-four credentials?

Spurs fans were singing in the rain during the midweek Champions League victory, but the club need to guard against a domestic damp squib.
Although the perception that Tottenham struggle in post-European matches is a little unfair, there is no denying they were laboured at home in defeat by Wigan and victory over Wolves.

Villa could be welcome opponents. They have only won this fixture once in a decade, and their new manager also has an unenviable record at White Hart Lane: Gerard Houllier's first ever Premier League away defeat came at Tottenham, in December 1998, and he has lost five of his six previous league visits.

Houllier has started his Villa reign with successive victories. The Frenchman has praised the character of the squad he inherited, and they will need to show plenty of that if they are to upset Spurs and Chelsea in their next two games.

Head-to-head
• Villa's only win in their last 10 visits to White Hart Lane was a 2-1 victory in September 2008 (W1, D5, L4).
• Harry Redknapp is unbeaten in eight league matches against Aston Villa since his Portsmouth side lost 1-0 at Villa Park in March 2006.

Tottenham
• Spurs are attempting to avoid back-to-back league defeats for the first time in 11 months since losing at home to Stoke and away to Arsenal.
• They have earned eight points from six matches - four fewer than at the same stage last season.
• Tottenham have only been ahead at half time in one of their six league fixtures this season.
• They have conceded once in each of their last five league matches. This is their longest run without a clean sheet since conceding in each of their opening six games last season.

Aston Villa
• Villa are vying for successive wins for the first time since winning three in a row in April.
• They have conceded 12 goals in their last four away matches.
• Emile Heskey has scored in back-to-back club appearances for the first time since April 2008. He has now scored four goals in his last five matches under Gerard Houllier.
• Ashley Young will be making his 150th Premier League appearance.

LEADING GOALSCORERS FROM LAST SEASON
Tottenham

Pavlyuchenko: 4 goals (1 league);
Crouch: 4 goals (0 league)
Aston Villa

Downing: 3 goals (3 league);
Heskey & A Young: 3 goals (1 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant referees: Jake Collin & Scott Ledger
Fourth official: Stuart Attwell

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BringBack_leGin · Oct 1, 2010

Might wear the lucky shirt again tomorrow, not sure if we need it or not. Last time I wore it for a midweek game followed by a league game the following weekend was Arsenal, then Chelsea last season in the big run in. Just don't know if I should push my luck after it won us three penalties and blinded the ref to Hudds elbow, it might be asking a bit much.

ohh_when_the_spurs · Oct 1, 2010

BringBack_leGin said:
Might wear the lucky shirt again tomorrow, not sure if we need it or not. Last time I wore it for a midweek game followed by a league game the following weekend was Arsenal, then Chelsea last season in the big run in. Just don't know if I should push my luck after it won us three penalties and blinded the ref to Hudds elbow, it might be asking a bit much.

Save it for the champions league final

spurs mental · Oct 1, 2010

chrissivad said:
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur

Two weeks in a row we're playing them away?

mg: That's hardly fair. ;-)

TwoSaintsComeMarching · Oct 1, 2010

BBLG if you dont wear your shirt tomorrow I will hunt you down and piss on your face.

chkthfc82 · Oct 1, 2010

I fancy villa tomorrow. I really don't feel confident at all

madroosta · Oct 2, 2010

I have a feeling in my bone about this one, 3-2 final score! Bale first and last goal.

hellava_tough · Oct 2, 2010

Same as usual - we'll create a hat-full of chances, it just depends if we finish them or not

An early goal would be nice

Mornstar · Oct 2, 2010

Is it just me or does Thuddlestone have a reptilian looking left arm in the picture at the top.

AngerManagement · Oct 2, 2010

This type of game will be the yard stick for our season, we have to be able to come off CL midweek games and still get the type of results we demand in our league weekend matches that follow (ok maybe the games after away CL matches will be a bigger test)

Villa at home is the type of game we have to win (ok we never last year and still got fourth but you know what I mean)

The bottom line is we need to be able to play in the CL without it having any kind of adverse effect on our League campaign. So today we need to see the type of performance and result you would expect if the Twenty game never happened.

Today may well be a good indication of our ability to juggle both competitions effectively.

bubble07 · Oct 2, 2010

BIG game lads. A win and were back in the pack for 4th. With 4 points from our first 2 CL games and 11 points from 7 league games would make our season so fair fairly decent

NEVILLEB · Oct 2, 2010

Time for our strikers to earn their keep

walworthyid · Oct 2, 2010

Ledley MUST play. If he doesn't, I don't fancy our chances too much.

This is a massive game for us. The scum will lose and we could be level with them when the dust settles this weekend which would be a big psychological blow for them and a boost for us. We can't just look at Man city as our rivals, we should be looking at the scum as well.

Villa could also be in the mix and a victory today would also give us an advantage over them.

walworthyid · Oct 2, 2010

bubble07 said:
BIG game lads. A win and were back in the pack for 4th. With 4 points from our first 2 CL games and 11 points from 7 league games would make our season so fair fairly decent

Yep. Especially considering injuries and what not. If we can stay in the mix until Defoe comes back, and then until January, we have a good shot of staying in the fight for 4th.

This game is huge.

chavkev · Oct 2, 2010

I would agree that a win would draw us back up to the pack. We are still in competition primarily with Man City this season for fourth, so we need to win to keep the pressure on them.

We can win this and hopefully we will see more of the Pav from the second half of the Twente game.

3Dnata · Oct 2, 2010

I predict Pavs to go on a scoring spree. He'll probably do little else though.

mil1lion · Oct 2, 2010

There is no pack at this stage of the season. We're only 6 games in. 3 points below 3rd place, 3 points above 3rd from bottom.

Important game today, but aren't they all? I wouldn't consider this anything like a must win game. 3 points would be great though.

I hope Villa don't sit back and make it difficult. It would be nice to see an open game today. Something exciting please. I can't stand another frustrating afternoon in front of goal.

COYS!

davidmatzdorf · Oct 2, 2010

So that I don't get accused of having 20:20 hindsight, I'm going to put up this idea now. I hope I turn out to be wrong.

I've been thinking that there are only so many games that players can really get 100% "up" for, no matter how much they rationalise the need for intensity in every match.

Many of us think (including me) that it's actually more important for the future of the club to qualify again for the Champions League this season than it is to do well in it. But it seems to me that it must be impossible to get the players to share this view at a gut level. They all want to play in the CL: it's the pinnacle of club football. They're all naturally going to be much more "buzzed" about playing a CL qualifier or Tottenham's first home CL group match or at the San Siro, compared to Wigan or West Brom or Villa at home.

I think that's what causes "post-CL hangover" - not physical exhaustion, but the loss of intensity and mental focus.

I can't see what Redknapp can do to change this. And I think it is affecting our league form. Let's hope we prove it wrong this afternoon, at least for this week...

BringBack_leGin · Oct 2, 2010

Plausible DM, but I think that is where we as fans need to do our part. We can't be flat today just because it's not a glamourous CL game, we need to create and itnense, emotional, motivating atmosphere from minute 1. We need to make every match feel to the players like last seasons home tie v Arsenal. 36,000 fans pouring our their passions is as good a way as any to get their adrenaline pumping, so we ourselves need make sure that we don't lose our buzz just because it's Villa home.

stevenurse · Oct 2, 2010

If pav scores 3 but does f all else I'll be more than happy

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