Spurs focused on the Europa League final as they face opponents still battling hard for a top-five finish
Friday night under the lights: Aston Villa host Tottenham in a match that has been brought forward by the Premier League
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George Flood
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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick
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Aston Villa host Tottenham in one of two Friday night fixtures in the Premier League this week.
The game was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, only for the top-flight to approve Spurs’ request to bring it forward as a result of their progress into the Europa League final, giving them the same amount of time as Manchester United - who travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after their match was moved to avoid a clash with the Women’s FA Cup final - to prepare for the Bilbao showpiece on May 21.
While Tottenham and United continue to endure truly disastrous domestic campaigns that see them sit 17th and 16th respectively with only two matches remaining, the rearranged games have a lot of significance for both Villa and Chelsea as they battle furiously for a top-five finish and Champions League qualification next season.
Villa withstood Jacob Ramsey’s late red card to win 1-0 at Bournemouth last weekend thanks to Ollie Watkins’ goal late in first-half stoppage time that saw him become the club’s record Premier League goalscorer.
That win guaranteed Unai Emery’s side at least a spot in the Conference League next season as they can no longer finish any lower than seventh, though they are still aiming for a second successive campaign at Europe’s top table after making the Champions League quarter-finals this year, staying sixth and level on points with Chelsea in fifth after the latter lost 2-0 at Newcastle - who rose to third - and seventh-place Nottingham Forest were held at home by relegated Leicester.
All eyes are on the Europa League final for Tottenham as they finally seek to win a first major trophy since 2008 and first in Europe for 41 years that would take them back to the Champions League, but the case for Ange Postecoglou remaining as manager regardless of what happens in Bilbao is not being helped by their continued domestic struggles as a much-changed team were beaten 2-0 at home by Crystal Palace - their 20th league loss of the season.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Aston Villa vs Tottenham is scheduled for a 7:30pm BST kick-off on Friday May 16, 2025.
The match will take place at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Tottenham
TV channel: The match is being broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Premier League at 7pm BST.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the action unfold live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You won’t miss anything with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from chief football correspondent Dan Kilpatrick at Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham team news
Midfielder Ramsey will serve a one-match ban for Villa after his two yellow cards against Bournemouth, while Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford is out with a hamstring injury.
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Youri Tielemans will be assessed after missing last weekend’s win at the Vitality Stadium with a knock.
Postecoglou made eight changes against Palace with one eye firmly fixed on the Europa League final and seems unlikely to take any risks again on Friday night.
Injury concern: Tottenham are hopeful that Dejan Kulusevski will be fit for the Europa League final
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Captain Heung-min Son will get more minutes ahead of Bilbao after returning off the bench last weekend, though it seems very unlikely that Dejan Kulusevski will feature after a minor knee issue picked up against Palace that Spurs hope he will shake off for the final.
James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Radu Dragusin have all been lost for the season, along with young striker Dane Scarlett.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham prediction
Villa have responded to their shocking FA Cup semi-final defeat by Crystal Palace at Wembley with back-to-back narrow league wins to boost their hopes of a top-five finish.
Emery’s men are not firing on all cylinders, though are grinding out results to stay very much in the Champions League qualification mix, having done so brilliantly in that competition this season.
With only the cut-adrift and settled bottom three now below them, Spurs’ league campaign has been totally miserable, yielding 20 losses from a season that has included 25 defeats in total.
Tottenham have only won once in the league since February, a 1-0 victory over Southampton in early April that relegated the rock-bottom Saints.
None of their fringe players have been stating a case for inclusion in the starting XI for Bilbao and it’s not difficult to foresee another tough evening in store.
Aston Villa to win, 2-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Spurs thumped 10-man Villa 4-0 away last season after losing 2-1 at home and also thrashed them 4-1 in north London back in November.
The two sides also met in the FA Cup fourth round in February, with hosts Villa winning 2-1.
Aston Villa wins: 61
Tottenham wins: 79
Draws: 36
Aston Villa vs Tottenham match odds
Aston Villa to win: 1/3
Tottenham to win: 6/1
Draw: 9/2
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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