The latest Spurs team news, injury update and predicted XI ahead of their Premier League clash against Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action this weekend, when they host Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon. Spurs head into the game with a serious point to prove, having started their season in nightmare fashion: they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup earlier in the week, and lie 17th in the league table with no wins and not a single goal scored.
However, Saturday’s visitors are in a tricky position themselves. While they’ve impressed in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup, Villa are also without a Premier League victory in their opening four matches of the season. They’re 19th in the table with an even poorer record than Spurs, and both sides will consider their upcoming clash a ‘must-not-lose’ game.
Sign up to our 3AddedMinutes newsletter
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to 3 Added Minutes, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Heading into the weekend, Spurs have a number of injury issues to contend with. Pedro Porro has missed the club’s last two games with a muscular problem, while £100m summer signing Sandro Tonali couldn’t feature in the midweek cup loss to Liverpool due to a knock. Xavi Simons, Mykhailo Mudryk, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski remain long-term injury concerns.
As Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham continue their preparations with the aim of getting their first three points of the season on the board, we’ve had a crack at predicting the most likely starting XI the Italian manager will field to take on the Villans in Saturday afternoon’s early kick-off.
Will Pedro Porro start against Aston Villa?
GK - Antonin Kinsky: Spurs’ first-choice stopper was rested against Liverpool, with Martin Dubravka playing the role of cup goalkeeper this season. Despite his struggles last season, De Zerbi has put his faith in Kinsky going forward, following Guglielmo Vicario’s loan move to Juventus. Kinsky will start between the sticks against Villa.
RB - Pedro Porro: The World Cup winner is expected to return to the side to face Aston Villa, in a huge boost to a side who have looked particularly shaky at the back. He should be ready to come in for Archie Gray, and will significantly bolster Spurs’ strength at the back as well as their attacking threat going forward.
CB - Micky van de Ven: Tottenham’s club captain pulled no punches when it came to assessing the club’s failures last season, and he’ll be desperate for the side’s fortunes to improve after relegation was only just avoided in the 2025/26 campaign. He’ll start against Villa on Saturday, after being rested for the defeat to Liverpool.
CB - Jan Paul van Hecke: Another player rested at Anfield, Van de Ven’s Netherlands teammate is expected to come back straight into the starting line-up this weekend. He joined in the summer as part of the club’s mega £330m spending spree, signing a long-term contract of unspecified length with the north London side.
LB - Destiny Udogie: Andy Robertson joined Spurs on a free transfer at the end of last season, but Udogie still looks to be De Zerbi’s first-choice left-back, amid concerns over the Scotland international’s gradual decline in form. Udogie was brought off before the hour mark against the Reds, which means he should be fresh to face Villa.
Spurs predicted line-up vs Aston Villa: Midfield and attack
CM - Rodrigo Bentancur: The Uruguay international worked hard to overcome a hamstring injury that saw him miss most of the second half of last season, and is making up for lost time by becoming an integral part of De Zerbi’s midfield. Like Udogie, he played just under an hour against Liverpool before being withdrawn from action.
CM - Conor Gallagher: With Tonali failing to make the squad in midweek, De Zerbi may look to avoid an unnecessary risk just before the international break and bring Gallagher in to a deeper midfield role. The ex-Chelsea man scored in Spurs’ 3-1 loss to Liverpool, and will be hopeful of getting plenty of minutes in his first full season at the club.
AMR - Mohamed Kudus: Spurs’ star winger is back from a long-term injury lay-off and will be looking to play a key role in transforming his side’s fortunes on the field. He got a solid 75 minutes in the tank in midweek and could make his first Premier League start of the season when Villa come to town.
AMC - Mateus Fernandez: Signing West Ham’s standout star last season was a real coup for Spurs, but he’s yet to replicate the kind of stirring performances he was producing for their east London rivals. De Zerbi has suggested that he could look to play Kudus in the number ten role, but it’s likely that he’ll look to get the side back on track first before experimenting
AML - Omar Marmoush: The Manchester City loanee is yet to open his goalscoring account for Spurs, and will be eager to impress after spending much of his time at the Etihad Stadium sat on the bench. He could be shifted out to the left wing on Saturday, to allow a change in the side’s attacking profile.
ST - Dominic Solanke: He’s struggled for game time this season, but with Spurs simply not scoring goals in the league, De Zerbi needs to figure out an alternative plan. Bringing Solanke back in to lead the line wouldn’t be too radical a change, and he possesses the physicality required to cause Aston Villa’s leaky defence some problems.
Tottenham predicted XI vs Aston Villa: Kinsky; Porro, Van de Ven, Van Hecke, Udogie; Gallagher, Bentancur; Kudus, Fernandez, Marmoush; Solanke.