Tottenham’s final game may seem tame compared with, say, Manchester City looking to clinch the Premier League title. But Aston Villa have a chance to mess things up for Spurs in their visit to White Hart Lane (Watch the game at 10am ET on USA or live online via NBC Sports Live Extra).
See, Tottenham have yet to sew up sixth place, otherwise known as England’s final Europa League spot. And while Spurs aren’t known for taking the competition all that seriously, it’s still a chance to make a little extra cash. And with the winner of next year’s tournament getting automatic entry into the Champions League, Spurs may have some incentive to keep hold of that spot.
As for Villa, they’re just happy to have stayed up. In fact, the visit to London almost seems like something that just needs to be over and done with, as the majority of supporters are simply waiting to hear about the club’s future, and whether it will be under new ownership next season.
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Despite having a great opportunity to try out new players and lose absolutely nothing, Paul Lambert has elected to make just two changes from last week’s side that beat Hull 3-1. Gabby Agbonlahor and Leandro Bacuna replace Ciaran Clark and Karim El Ahmadi, but unfortunately for those watching, Nathan Baker remains in defense.
Tim Sherwood makes two changes to the Spur team that lost 2-0 to West Ham last time out. One is enforced: Younes Kaboul’s red card means Vlad Chiriches steps into defense. The other is a bit odd - Sandro plays, despite hints he’s on his way out of the team.
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Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Naughton, Chiriches, Dawson, Rose; Sandro; Sigurdsson, Paulinho, Eriksen; Adebayor, Kane
Subs: Friedel, Fryers, Veljkovic, Bentaleb, Capoue, Pritchard, Soldado
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bertrand, Bacuna, Westwood, Delph, Weimann, Bowery, Agbonlahor
Subs: Steer, Sylla, Holt, Robinson, Grealish, Grealish, Clark, El Ahmadi