Story so far... The 2013/14 Premier League season has largely been one to forget for Aston Villa.
On the pitch, their season was defined by a few marquee wins - the 1-3 come-from-behind victory at Arsenal on opening day, the 3-2 home win over Manchester City and the 1-0 victory over Chelsea - and tragically poor home results where they dropped points in 13 of 19 contests.
The poor results were based on a number of elements including a young squad, transfers who didn’t pan out (Nicklas Helenius, Aleksander Tonev, Antonio Luna), a season to forget for Christian Benteke (a drab fall/winter and a spring ruined by a torn achilles) and a manager who came off as uninspiring and, at times, indifferent to his sides’ poor displays. Besides the victories over big clubs, another positive was the continued development of a number of players like Brad Guzan, who had some epic saves in goal, Fabian Delph, who memorably dribbled half the pitch and beat Chelsea with a back heel goal, Leandro Bacuna, who proved himself an offensive menace despite playing as a full-back, and Ashley Westwood, who proved he can score goals and be a leader for years to come.
Off the pitch things have unraveled with rumors of owner Randy Lerner looking to sell while long-serving assistant coaches, Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa, being suspended in April after an alleged row. It’s a scene that feels inevitable to come to a head over the summer.
Who do they play and where can I watch it: Villa faces Tottenham at White Hart Lane and can be seen live on USA at 10:00am ET as well as streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra.
Form guide: Form wise, Villa have had tough run of it lately, winning only once in their last six matches. Back in October Villa lost to Spurs 2-0 after goals from Roberto Soldado and Andros Townsend did the damage.
April 5 - Aston Villa 1-2 Fulham
April 12 - Crystal Palace 1 Aston Villa 0
April 19 - Aston Villa 0 Southampton 0
April 26 - Swansea City 4 Aston Villa 1
May 3 - Aston Villa 3 Hull City 1
May 7 - Manchester City 4 Aston Villa 0
What’s at stake: A victory on Sunday could take them as high as 12th place while a loss, combined with wins by West Brom and Hull City, could see them finish 17th. It’s a large range of possibilities for the Villans but no matter what happens, supporters will be happy to be staying up and eager to move on from what has been an odd and forgettable 2013/14 season.
When the final whistle blows: It’s difficult to see Villa beat Spurs but a share of the points certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Onwards and upwards.