Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur will go head-to-head in the Premier League at Villa Park on Friday night, with both teams prioritising qualification for the Champions League to end their season.
Unai Emery's side kept their chances of a top five finish alive with a 1-0 win away at Bournemouth last time out, while Ange Postecoglou's team currently sit 17th in the table after a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace with their attention currently fully focused on the Europa League final next week.
Both sides have got some injury concerns heading into the game which will leave the managers with some big decisions to make, and this is how GIVEMEPORT expect the teams to line up.
Aston Villa Team News
Tielemans still unavailable
The Villans are still set to be without key midfielder Youri Tielemans for this game after he suffered a hamstring injury, and he may not return before the end of the season. He joins forward Marcus Rashford on the sidelines, meaning the loanee has now played his last game for the club, as he can't feature against Man Utd next week either.
Amadou Onana played well when given a start in midfield last time out and he could continue in that role, while Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings continue to compete for a spot at centre-back. Jacob Ramsey is suspended following his red card last time out.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Emery shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“Youri [Tielemans] and Marcus [Rashford] tomorrow are not available. Ramsey is suspended. The other players are available.
"I don’t want holidays because we’re in a very good moment after a long season, but now we’re very, very motivated. Very excited to play at Villa Park tomorrow...
"It’s not in our hands, but we can have some options to play Champions League again."
Aston Villa Predicted XI
Onana and Malen to start
Aston Villa Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Onana, Kamara, Malen; Rogers; Watkins.
Aston Villa Predicted Substitutes: Olsen (GK), Disasi (DEF), Pau (DEF), Maatsen (DEF), Garcia (DEF), Bogarde (MID), Barkley (MID), Bailey (FWD), Asensio (FWD),
With Ramsey suspended, Rashford injured and Marco Asensio struggling for form, Emery should bring Donyell Malen into the starting lineup for this game out wide.
That should see £335,000-a-week trio Asensio, Leon Bailey and Pau Torres benched for the crunch tie.
Tottenham Team News
Kulusevski sidelined
Spurs have been rocked by the news that influential playmaker Dejan Kulusevski has been forced to undergo knee surgery, all-but ruling him out of next week's Europa League final. He joins James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall on the sidelines, while Radu Dragusin is also a long-term absentee after his ACL tear.
Captain Heung-Min Son returned to action as a substitute in the last game and could get a start to get more rhythm before the final, but Postecoglou will surely be considering making big changes ahead of the game.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Postecoglou shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
"Obviously disappointing news. Initially we thought it wasn't too serious but it blew up the day after. He's [Kulusevski] had the surgery which will put him out for at least a few months. We'll see [if he'll be back for the start of next season]. We've only got basic information at the moment.
"No, it's still the same sort of timeframe [for Bergvall]. Never long term but he's just got out of his boot and taking his first steps on the grass but he'll likely be a while.
"He'll [Son] definitely play tomorrow. Whether he'll start or not we'll see. He reacted well to Sunday and it makes sense to get him more match minutes whether it's starting or playing half of the game.
Tottenham Predicted XI
Gray and Odobert to start
Tottenham Predicted XI: Vicario; Spence, Danso, Davies, Udogie; Gray, Sarr, Ajayi; Odobert, Son, Moore.
Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Kinsky (GK), Porro (DEF), Romero (DEF), Van de Ven (DEF), Bissouma (MID), Bentancur (MID), Tel (FWD), Richarlison (FWD), Solanke (FWD).
Postecoglou is unlikely to risk losing any more stars for the game and should name another much-changed team, meaning players like Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert should get the nod.
That would leave big earners Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke on the bench, while academy sensations Mikey Moore and Damola Ajayi could also make rare starts.