Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa: predicted line-up, team news and FA Cup match preview
Aston Villa join the fray in the FA Cup on Saturday when they face Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the third round.
Villa made it as far as the FA Cup semi-finals last season, defeating Premier League opponents in the third round and fourth round on the way to a Wembley loss against Crystal Palace.
Spurs were their opponents in the fourth round, the first of three Villa wins over the north London team in 2025 after a pair of heavy defeats the year before.
Villa’s FA Cup dream on hold
Unai Emery is a winner. Ask him how he sees this tie and the FA Cup in general this season and I’m certain he’d say he wants to win it because he wants to win every match. I think he’s sincere in that, too.
Yet there’s no escaping the basic fact that the Premier League and Europa League are the competitions that offer a route back to the Champions League, which is an increasingly realistic aim.
It’s not that Emery will deprioritise the FA Cup, more that he won’t prioritise it. That’s the kind of subtle difference that can see a team knocked out in the early rounds.
Nobody at Villa wants that. This is a club that craves a trophy and many of us would dearly love for them to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1957. It’s something I’m desperate to see in my lifetime.
But, with Villa third in the league with a lead to protect and a buffer to support them, Emery would be forgiven for having an eye on the couple of matches that follow this one. It would be weird if he didn’t.
Villa team news
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez went off at half time in Villa’s draw at Crystal Palace, after which it was confirmed that he was withdrawn due to a calf injury. We don’t have an update yet.
Pau Torres was named on the bench at Selhurst Park after missing several weeks through injury but Tyrone Mings, who is also close to a return, was not ready to play a part. Both could be involved in the matchday squad at Spurs on Saturday.
Midfield duo Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are further away and aren’t expected to be back in time for the FA Cup game, while Evann Guessand is due to play in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for Ivory Coast against Egypt on Saturday evening.
New signing Alysson joined the squad for training for the first time on Thursday. The plan for him this season isn’t yet known, so his inclusion or otherwise in the squad on Saturday could prove instructive.
Villa predicted line-up v Spurs
While I suspect Emery would like to tweak his team for this game, the injuries in midfield really limit his ability to do so in the areas that matter.
Without two of Onana, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans in the middle, there’s a good chance Villa would get over-run and Emery’s ultimate aim will be to win the game.
There could well be a place for Lamare Bogarde but my guess is neither Kamara nor Tielemans will be considered dispensable.
It’s a similar story at the back, where Ian Maatsen and Lucas Digne can easily swap places at left-back but there’s not much else that can be done in terms of resting players without a significant drop-off.
A start for second-choice goalkeeper Marco Bizot seems likely, and I think Donyell Malen could get a chance to shine with Ollie Watkins also on the field. That would allow John McGinn to sit this tie out and that’s no bad thing.
Where to watch Spurs v Villa
Villa’s away game against Spurs will be broadcast live on BBC ONE and TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
