Early injury news as Aston Villa prepare to travel to north London in a stand-out FA Cup clash
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Aston Villa take a break from Premier League action this weekend as Unai Emery’s side travel to top-flight rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday (17:45 GMT).
In an encounter which is no doubt one of the games to look out for on third round weekend, the top-four chasing Villans face struggling Spurs and will hope that the form book sees Emery’s men secure victory and a place in the next round.
The two met in the FA Cup fourth round at Villa Park last season, with the Villans coming out on top 2-1 thanks to goals by Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers. Villa were ultimately defeated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Crystal Palace, having come through subsequent fixtures against Cardiff City and Preston North End. On their last trip to Spurs in October, Emery’s side were victorious by the same score-line as in last year’s cup meeting.
Both sides will be without multiple first-team stars as Villa look to come out on top against the Lilywhites once again.
Tottenham injury news ahead of Aston Villa clash
Tottenham might be without as many as nine players when Villa come to town, amidst a trio of recent injury concerns which have cast a further blow on Thomas Frank’s side.
Influential winger Mohammed Kudus will be out of action until after the March international break, Frank confirmed, after the Ghanaian suffered a quad injury during last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland. He will be joined on the sidelines by Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered a hamstring issue during Wednesday night’s 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth and is expected also to be out for an extended period.
Lucas Bergvall is a doubt for this weekend’s fixture having picked up a muscle injury last time out, while Destiny Udogie is believed to be close to a return to action after a month on the side-lines. Whether he will be fit for involvement against Villa is also not yet known.
Frank said in his pre-match press conference: “Lucas is being assessed today. We'll know more later today with him. Same with Rodri. Rodri is a hamstring injury, looks like a bigger one. We don't know the extent yet.”
Long-term absentees James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke are expected to remain out, while Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are away at AFCON.
Martinez a doubt as Aston Villa could be without five players for FA Cup tie
Aston Villa may have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of Saturday’s fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was substituted at half-time during the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in midweek. Marco Bizot replaced the Villa shot-stopper and will step in if Martinez is not passed fit, with his involvement currently a doubt.
Emery said at full-time: "He [Martinez] has a small injury. A small injury. I am not a doctor, but it is in his calf. He played fantastic in the first half, and then Marco Bizot also played fantastic in the second half. Now we will check him with the doctor and hopefully in a few days or weeks he will come back ready to play."
Pau Torres was passed fit for the bench at Palace after six matches out with a calf injury, while Tyrone Mings is believed to be edging closer to fitness and it remains to be seen whether he will be in the squad this weekend. Midfielders Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are set to miss out again through injury, while Evann Guessand is away representing the Ivory Coast at AFCON.