Aston Villa trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by just six points with 17 games left to play — hardly an insurmountable hill to climb — but the FA Cup represents the best chance for Unai Emery’s side to win a trophy this season, beginning with the premier tie of the third round on Saturday, away to struggling Tottenham Hotspur.
MORE — FA Cup 3rd round schedule & results
Spurs are once again languishing down in the bottom half of the table (14th) with Thomas Frank the latest head coach to come under intense scrutiny, but he might just fancy a cup run to get the fans back onside and buy himself a bit more time. The two sides met back in late October and it was Villa who came out on top, away from home, after Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia each scored to complete a comeback and 2-1 victory. Since then, Spurs have lost twice as many PL games (6) as they have won (3) and are 16th in the form table, 15 places and 18 points behind Aston Villa (1st - 31 points).
For live updates and highlights throughout Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:45 pm ET, Saturday
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Streaming: ESPN+
Spurs team news, focus
OUT: Mohammed Kudus (groin), Pape Matar Sarr (international duty - AFCON), Lucas Bergvall (undisclosed), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Yves Bissouma (international duty - AFCON), James Maddison (torn ACL - MORE) | QUESIONABLE: Destiny Udogie (hamstring)
Aston Villa team news, focus
OUT: Amadou Onana (unspecified), Evann Guessand (international duty - AFCON), Ross Barkley (unspecified) | QUESTIONABLE: Tyrone Mings (hamstring), Emiliano Martinez (calf)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa prediction
If the contrast in form isn’t enough to sway you, let the injury/international duty list do the rest. Spurs’ inability to create (or finish) scoring chances makes them nearly impossible to pick at this point. Spurs 1-3 Aston Villa.
