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Aston Villa moved closer to a Champions League return after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham, who had more than one eye on Wednesday's Europa League final.

Villa's memorable run to the quarter-finals of this season's competition gave them the taste for more and they boosted their hopes with an eighth win from their last nine Premier League games.

This was probably the biggest home banker of the campaign given where Spurs' focus lay, but Villa made hard work of it, needing second-half goals from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara to get the job done.

That means, if other results go their way this weekend, a win in their final game of the season at Manchester United would be enough to guarantee Villa a return to the promised land.

Spurs could yet still be in the Champions League next season as well if they can end their trophy drought with Europa League victory over United and boss Ange Postecoglou did nothing to jeopardise that at Villa Park.

The embattled Australian made it clear where his focus was by naming a weakened side, which included a first Premier League start since 2022 for forgotten man Sergio Reguilon.

They never really looked like avoiding a 21st league defeat of a miserable league season, but all roads now lead to Bilbao where history could beckon.

Villa had an early flurry of chances as Ollie Watkins fired straight at Antonin Kinsky and John McGinn fizzed an effort just over.

But Spurs, and Son Heung-min in particular, showed - for a time at least - they were not here just to make the numbers up.

The South Korean is one of the players who is likely to play in Bilbao and he almost opened the scoring when he cut inside and whipped an effort just over the crossbar.

Son was again involved as Spurs went close once more, starting a move that saw Wilson Odobert cleverly flick Mathys Tel's cross goalwards, but Emiliano Martinez was equal to it, saving with his feet.

It was Kinsky who was then forced into a smart save as he got finger tips to Amadou Onana's cross that was sneaking into the far post.

Villa came forward with a wave of attacks, with Marco Asensio curling just wide from 20 yards and Konsa heading straight at Kinsky.

Frustrations were growing as the hosts floundered at the start of the second half but the tension was relieved as they finally made the breakthrough just before the hour.

It was almost 2-0 60 seconds later but Kinsky got down well to keep out Watkins' effort.

Kamara did kill any jangling nerves in the 73rd minute when he unleashed a fierce low shot that was too hot to handle for Kinsky.

Villa saw it out to end their excellent home campaign with a record-extending 21st match unbeaten in all competitions.

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Spurs will be without Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison in Bilbao

Big decisions: Ange Postecoglou must find some creativity in midfield

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

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Ange Postecoglou is exploring a "creative way" to cover for the absence of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall in next week's Europa League Final against Manchester United and says he will experiment in Friday's visit to Aston Villa.

Postecoglou played down the chances of a formation change in Bilbao on Wednesday but has suggested he could use a player in a different position to make up for the loss of his three most creative midfielders.

Kulusesvki is set to be sidelined for "a few months" after undergoing surgery on his knee cap this week, while Bergvall (ankle) and Maddison (knee) will both miss the final with ligament damage.

Pape Matar Sarr is the obvious contender to play an advanced midfield role ahead of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur but Postecoglou's other options include using Heung-min Son, Wilson Odobert or even Pedro Porro centrally, or switching to a 4-4-2 set-up with Son or Richarlison supporting Dominic Solanke.

"We've always had to try to find creative ways to cover the absences we've had and we'll find a way to do that again," Postecoglou said ahead of the rearranged visit to Villa Park.

Dejan Kulusevski will miss the Europa League final after undergoing knee surgery

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"I doubt you'd do a serious departure from what we have been doing in terms of our overall structure but at the same time you have to find solutions within the context of what we have available to give us the best chance of success.

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"We've got to get through the [Villa] game tomorrow night to see what the wash-up from that is. We can try a couple of things tomorrow night to see how they work and we've got to make our decisions from there."

Postecoglou played down the chances of a "radical" new approach against United, which would appear to rule out a switch to a back-three to free up full-backs Porro and Destiny Udogie, but opened the door to "positional change" for a player.

Wingers Son, who Postecoglou said would definitely feature for a half against Villa, or Odobert are candidates to play centrally but Postecoglou did not shoot down the suggestion from a reporter that Porro or Solanke could be set for a new role.

"There could be a performance tomorrow night that convinces me to go one way or another," he replied.

"You consider it all. At the same time, even if you do something radical, whether it’s a positional change, it’s always better done in the confines of having a real solid foundation there.

"Foundationally, we’re not going to change anything there in terms of the way we play, the way we set up for the most part.

"If you do that, if it’s one positional change for a player then it still has a possibility of working."

In picking a team to face Villa, Postecoglou faces a difficult balancing act, with some players in need of minutes ahead of Bilbao but the head coach saying on Monday that he would wrap his stars up in "cotton wool" to avoid more injuries.

Ange Postecoglou is not expected to take any risks with his key stars

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And the Australian suggested that the state of his squad was too "finely balanced" following the loss of Kulusevski to take risks against the Villains, suggesting he would name another weakened XI for Spurs' penultimate league game of the campaign.

“Look, in a normal world you use this to sharpen up but we’re not living in a normal world," Postecoglou said.

"That’s the reality of our existence at the moment where we can’t lose another player to an injury. It’s just too finely balanced for us considering what’s at stake.

“Villa are obviously going for Champions League football and you see how important it is to them and we’re doing the same."

A rotated Spurs XI may raise questions questions about the integrity of the Premier League given that Villa are locked in a six-way battle for four spots in next season's Champions League.

Unai Emery's side face United on the final day, four days after the showpiece.

"When you put a line-up out there you are trying to win a game of football but at the same time every club has got its own interests and you have to prioritise what's important for your club," Postecoglou said.

"Champions League is very important for all those clubs fighting for it at the moment, I can see how important it is and every game and every decision is crucial but we are in exactly the same boat.

"We have got Champions League qualification plus a trophy to win.

"It would be negligent of me if I wasn't doing the best thing for our football club to make sure we achieve."

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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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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Tottenham are in Premier League action away at Aston Villa tonight.

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 tonight 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 tonight 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. Youri Tielemans will also miss out again through injury.

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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 blow: Tottenham will not have Dejan Kulusevski available 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 Dejan Kulusevski’s season is over after undergoing knee surgery.

James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Radu Dragusin have all been lost for the season too, 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: 3/10

Tottenham to win: 15/2

Draw: 5/1

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).

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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou faces a difficult balancing act for Friday's rearranged visit to Aston Villa in the Premier League, which comes just five days before the season-defining Europa League Final against Manchester United in Bilbao.

Postecoglou has suggested he cannot afford to risk any more injuries after Dejan Kulusevski had surgery on his knee cap on Wednesday, joining Lucas Bergvall (ankle) and James Maddison (knee) on the sidelines.

But the Australian will want to get minutes into some of his stars, particularly as only three players from the XI for the Europa League semi-final decider - including Kulusevski - kept their places for the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend.

The absence of Spurs' three creative midfielders is a major concern ahead of the final and Pape Matar Sarr, who is likely to fill in at No10 in Spain, likely needs the game-time against the Champions League-chasing Villains.

Postecoglou has said Heung-min Son will be involved after the South Korean returned from a foot injury for the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last time out and the Spurs captain is set to play a half.

"He'll definitely play tomorrow, whether we start with him or not we'll have a look at," Postecoglou said of Son. "He reacted well to playing the other day, no issues with his foot, he's trained well. If not a starter, he'll definitely play at least half the game."

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will be vital to Spurs' chances against United and could play 45 minutes each at Villa Park, while right-back Pedro Porro is likely to be protected for the final.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma may also share duties against Unai Emery's side, with Archie Gray pushing for another midfield start. Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson could be rested, paving the way for another opportunity for Wilson Odobert.

Richarlison, whose chances of starting the final have been lessened by Son's return to fitness, is pushing to play through the middle, while Mathys Tel is likely to be Son's understudy.

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Ange Postecoglou will seek to strike the right balance with his team selection as Tottenham travel to Aston Villa tonight, just five days before the Europa League final.

Postecoglou has suggested that he cannot afford to risk any more injuries after Dejan Kulusevski had surgery on his kneecap on Wednesday, joining Lucas Bergvall (ankle) and James Maddison (knee) on the sidelines.

But the Australian will want to get minutes into some of his stars, particularly as only three players from the XI for the Europa League semi-final decider - including Kulusevski - kept their places for the 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace last weekend.

The absence of Spurs' three creative midfielders is a major concern ahead of the final against Manchester United and Pape Matar Sarr, who is likely to fill in at No10 in Spain, likely needs the game-time against the Champions League-chasing Villains.

Postecoglou has said Heung-min Son will be involved after the South Korean returned from a foot injury last time out and the Spurs captain is set to play a half.

"He'll definitely play tomorrow, whether we start with him or not we'll have a look at," Postecoglou said of Son on Thursday. "He reacted well to playing the other day, no issues with his foot, he's trained well. If not a starter, he'll definitely play at least half the game."

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will be vital to Spurs' chances against United and could play 45 minutes each at Villa Park, while right-back Pedro Porro is likely to be protected for the final.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma may also share duties against Unai Emery's side, with Archie Gray pushing for another midfield start. Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson could be rested, paving the way for another opportunity for Wilson Odobert.

Richarlison, whose chances of starting the final have been lessened by Son's return to fitness, is pushing to play through the middle, while Mathys Tel is likely to be Son's understudy.