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Listen, I'm honest, I have one face. If I say Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Palhinha and all our players are great level, big level, it's because I feel. I don't want to sell something if I don't believe in my words. I'm lucky because I'm working with very good players, good people and very good players. And my work, my job is just to transfer the confidence, to believe in themselves and to try to be stronger than the defeat, stronger that the position of the table, stronger than the words all of you normally say about Tottenham, and to show passion, to show value, humility, pride.

I am very happy and very pleased for the performance. We won a great game against a great Aston Villa. Ok they have to play Thursday a very important game for them but ok it's very tough playing against Emery, against this Villa in this stadium. They have a very nice stadium and for that I'm really pleased.

The performance with the ball and without the ball. Without the ball great courage and with the ball great quality.

Ok we are one point more than West Ham but it's more important to play a great game and believe in our qualities. We have to play like the first half 90 minutes. I didn't like the goal we conceded but there were a lot of positives.

Here are our Tottenham Hotspur player ratings after their much-needed victory at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night

Tottenham picked up a huge 2-1 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night to jump out of the bottom three and here are our Spurs player ratings from the match.

Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi had made four changes to his team, two of them enforced after the latest injuries to Xavi Simons or Dominic Solanke, while Unai Emery's fifth-placed Villa are between Europa League semi-final legs against Nottingham Forest and made seven changes to their side.

Joao Palhinha netted an important goal for Spurs at Wolves last weekend and earned himself a starting spot alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in the midfield, while Mathys Tel and Richarlison replaced Xavi and Solanke with Destiny Udogie returning from injury at left-back.

Conor Gallagher opened the scoring 12 minutes into the contest with his first goal in a Tottenham shirt. He took down a headed clearance from Kevin Danso's long throw on the edge of the box and fired it perfectly into the bottom left corner of the net.

Palhinha hit the left-hand post with an effort from outside the box a couple of minutes later and Spurs did make it 2-0 on 25 minutes when Richarlison headed home Tel's pinpoint cross from the right.

The second half brought little in the way of incident until Emiliano Buendia looped a header into the Tottenham net deep into added time but it was too little too late for the hosts.

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Here are our Spurs player ratings:

Antonin Kinsky

His distribution was near perfect and the organisation in front of him only let up with that late Villa goal. 7

Pedro Porro

Had a roving role, sometimes following Rogers, sometimes pushed right up the pitch with Palhinha tucked in behind him. Fought for everything in one of his best defensive performances in a long time. 9

Kevin Danso

A huge presence at the back with so many big headers. His long throw led to Gallagher's opening goal. 9

Micky van de Ven

The captain made a great tackle to deny Abraham running through five minutes into the second half. Looked to have rolled his ankle late in the game but kept on going. Buendia got in ahead of him but Palhinha had lost him. 9

Destiny Udogie

Great to have the Italian back in the side and he was excellent down the left. So little got past him. 9

Rodrigo Bentancur

A busy performance, chasing down everything and knitting together the defence and midfield. Needed treatment before he came off. Had gone down in the first half. Spurs need him fit. 8

Joao Palhinha

An absolute dominant character in the game. Spent his time switching between midfield and the right of a back three. Hit a low shot from outside the box that struck the left-hand upright 16 minutes in. Fought everything, won almost everything and roared in delight every time. Did lose Buendia for that late goal but it was too late to matter on the night. Was a 10 otherwise. 9

Randal Kolo Muani

Had an effort tipped over by the keeper just before Richarlison's headed goal. Worked hard in tracking back and getting down the wing. 7

Conor Gallagher

Lovely first goal for Tottenham as he controlled a headed clearance on the edge of the box and sent it back low into the bottom left corner. Covered so much ground it was ridiculous. Found his confidence and position under De Zerbi. 9

Mathys Tel

Picked out Kolo Muani for a chance that Martinez saved then curled in a great cross for Richarlison to head home. Had a couple of opportunities to pass in the first half that he should have taken but worked really hard in tracking back. 8

Richarlison

Had an early effort deflected for a corner and then powered home a header on 25 minutes. Chased everything and continues to play a bit part in this Tottenham season. 9

Subs

Yves Bissouma

Added some legs to the midfield late in the game. 6

Djed Spence

A willing runner down the right flank in the latter stages. 6

Lucas Bergvall

A late cameo in added time. N/A

Pape Matar Sarr

Tottenham Hotspur continue their fight to stay in the Premier League with their match at Aston Villa and football.london is there to bring you all of the action.

For now, Spurs have their top flight destiny back in their own hands after West Ham fell to a 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday afternoon, but Roberto De Zerbi's injury-ravaged team face a tough test at high-flying Villa, who sit fifth in the table. The north London outfit will be hoping that their hosts have to rotate heavily for the game which is sandwiched between their Europa League semi-final legs against Nottingham Forest and just three days after the first leg defeat at the City Ground.

Villa's top five spot - bringing with it Champions League football next season - is nearly assured with Brighton's defeat at Newcastle leaving Brentford now in sixth and seven points behind Unai Emery's side with three games to play but they do face a couple of tough final games against Liverpool and Villa.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is reporting live from Villa Park to bring you all of the latest news, insight and updates from the match.

Here's the Tottenham Hotspur team that Roberto De Zerbi has selected to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday evening

Roberto De Zerbi has made four changes his Tottenham team to take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday night.

Spurs currently have their Premier League destiny back in their own hands after West Ham's 3-0 loss at Brentford on Saturday afternoon, but face a difficult test at fifth-placed Villa. Unai Emery's side are between Europa League semi-final legs against Nottingham Forest and have made seven changes to their side.

De Zerbi had already made it clear that whatever team their hosts put out would be a strong one and the Italian has no Xavi Simons or Dominic Solanke to call upon after their injuries in the win at Wolves, making it eight unavailable players.

The head coach suggested Mathys Tel was going to start and the young Frenchman comes in on on the left wing with Randal Kolo Muani out on the right and Richarlison up front for Solanke.

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De Zerbi told football.london that left-back Destiny Udogie could be back in contention and the Italian returns to the starting line-up, with Djed Spence on the bench. Joao Palhinha netted an important goal on Saturday at Molineux and has earned a spot alongside Rodrigo Bentancur with Yves Bissouma dropping to the bench.

Guglielmo Vicario remains out which means another game between the sticks for Antonin Kinsky. Pape Matar Sarr is back on the bench following his shoulder injury, but there are no forward options on there for De Zerbi to call upon.

Here's the Tottenham team De Zerbi has selected to face Villa:

Here's the Tottenham Hotspur team that we reckon Roberto De Zerbi will select to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday

Roberto De Zerbi will have his hand forced by Tottenham's latest batch of injuries but still has decisions to make as he picks his team to take on Aston Villa.

Spurs now have their Premier League destiny back in their own hands after West Ham's 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday afternoon, but face a tough test at Villa, who sit fifth in the table. Tottenham will be hoping that their hosts will have to rotate for the game which is sandwiched between their Europa League semi-final legs against Nottingham Forest.

Villa's top five spot - bringing with it Champions League football next season - is almost assured with Brighton's defeat at Newcastle leaving Brentford now in sixth and seven points behind Unai Emery's side with three games to play. In that scenario, Villa might be forgiven for having one eye on their European second leg.

De Zerbi has already made it clear that whatever team their hosts put out it will be a strong one and he will have no Xavi Simons or Dominic Solanke to call upon after their injuries in the win at Wolves, making it eight unavailable players.

Having no Xavi means De Zerbi will have to go for width as the main creator for his team rather than any playmaker. The head coach suggested Mathys Tel was going to start and the young Frenchman could come into the side on the left wing with Randal Kolo Muani out on the right and Richarlison is likely to come in for Solanke.

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Lucas Bergvall will be hoping for a go in the number 10 role, but Conor Gallagher's work rate and experience has impressed the new Spurs boss.

De Zerbi told football.london that left-back Destiny Udogie could be back in contention but there's a chance he might stick with Djed Spence to start rather than throw the Italian straight back into the fray after his injury woes. Joao Palhinha netted an important goal on Saturday but De Zerbi could again stick with the pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma for a third straight game in order to build a partnership there.

Guglielmo Vicario remains out which means another game between the sticks for Antonin Kinsky after his top drawer late save at Molineux last weekend.

Here's the Tottenham team we reckon De Zerbi could select to face Villa:

The Tottenham Hotspur head coach has been speaking about his attacking players and why he believes they can save the club this season

Roberto De Zerbi loves Richarlison's "pure" face and believes the Brazilian, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani can seize the moment for relegation-threatened Tottenham.

The new Spurs boss has just four games left to save the north London outfit from the drop, starting with Sunday's trip to Aston Villa. He must do so with eight players out injured and many of them his attacking stars. With no Dominic Solanke, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski or Wilson Odobert to call upon, and James Maddison not yet ready to start matches, the attacking trio of Richarlison, Tel and Kolo Muani will need to score the goals to keep Tottenham up.

Richarlison has seen off relegation before with Everton, scoring crucial goals to keep the Toffees in the top flight before his £60million move to Spurs in 2022. Now Tottenham's top scorer must evoke those memories to save his current club.

"Richarlison is a great guy because he is a sensitive guy, I like him as a player and as a man. What he thinks you can understand immediately from his face, or his eyes. It’s pure," said De Zerbi. "We have to put him in the right condition to score. I want to put all the attackers in the right condition to attack the space, to shoot, to go one to one, to play between the lines, to make the assists. In the second half at Wolves, we didn't."

Richarlison has more than 50 caps for Brazil and De Zerbi believes people have forgotten how good his players actually are, including themselves.

"This is my problem. I would like to remember every day what they are and what they have done," he said. "But not three, four, five years ago, because Tottenham finished the Champions League [league phase] in fourth position this season."

With Xavi's ACL injury, Tel will likely get the chance to show what he can do down his favoured left flank and De Zerbi has high hopes for the 21-year-old, who he tried to sign for Marseille.

"He is a potential big player, a potential big talent at the moment and we have to help him become a top player because he has the right qualities to do that," he said. "I’m sorry because I used him in not his favourite position. He played two games as a right winger, against Wolves and Brighton.

"His favourite position is left winger but at Wolves he was important to win the corner for the goal. Now maybe without Xavi, Maddison and Odobert and all the other players he can feel more comfortable because he can prepare his game for one week without the thoughts of whether he plays or not. The responsibilities can be better for us and for him."

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So can the France U21 international fulfil the talent that saw Bayern Munich sign him at just 17-years-old from Rennes?

"I don’t know but it can be the right moment for him. The players become great when they understand the right moment to become better," said De Zerbi.

"Xavi in my time, spent the time [well] and was becoming great, and I could feel something different from him in personality and confidence, in performances as well. I don’t know if the credit is mine but maybe he understood the right position, had the right confidence and the ideas of the coach so he made the most of the opportunity."

The final member of the attacking trio is Kolo Muani and De Zerbi is keen for him remind everyone why PSG splashed out almost £75million on him from Eintracht Frankfurt less than three years ago.

"Muani? He’s another of my problems. I have too many problems!" said the Italian. "But it’s not problems, I love working in this part of my job because when I was a player, I wanted to work with the coach to help to transfer more confidence, to believe, to show what his idea was about me.

“Sometimes coaches forget about this part of our work, but in this part, I want to be the first level. I can lose on the pitch, I can lose something in the tactics, but in terms of relationship, I want to give my best with all the players and not forget anyone."

With the game against Villa sandwiched between two Europa League semi-final legs against Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery could potentially rotate his team to face Spurs but De Zerbi is not expecting that to change much for the Premier League's fifth-placed team.

"Aston Villa have 20-22 players of first level. Douglas Luiz, Bogarde, Bailey, Sancho, Abraham, Mings are not the second level," said the head coach.

"It will be a tough game with the same players of Thursday or if he goes to change, I don’t know, but nothing changes from the level of the opponent."

Tottenham Hotspur can climb out of the Premier League relegation zone if they beat Aston Villa on Sunday night.

Tottenham Hotspur have been given a huge boost to their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League. The Lilywhites have the chance to climb out of the bottom three when they face Aston Villa following West Ham's defeat to Brentford.

The Bees stung Nuno Espirito Santo's side at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, banking three crucial points that turned the tide at either end of the table. Brentford climbed into sixth place, taking the lead in the race for qualification to the Europa League, while West Ham squandered the opportunity to extend their advantage over Spurs.

Keith Andrews' side took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Konstantinos Mavropanos turned the ball into his own net. The Hammers struck the post a few moments later before having a goal chalked off by the Video Assistant Referee for offside.

Despite their best efforts, West Ham couldn't level proceedings, with Valentín Castellanos hitting the woodwork again. Brentford doubled their lead shortly into the second half when Igor Thiago sent Mads Hermansen the wrong way from the spot.

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The Bees put the third and final nail in the coffin eight minutes from the end, with Mikkel Damsgaard wrapping a superb win for the hosts and a what could prove to be costly defeat for the Hammers. Nuno's side could have gone five points clear of Tottenham, but they're still just a stone's throw away.

The Lilywhites can capitalise on West Ham's misfortune when they take centre stage at Villa Park on Sunday night. Without getting carried away, De Zerbi always expected the Hammers to fluff their lines.

Speaking to reporters at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon, the Italian deflected and pointed out that West Ham have some tough fixtures coming up. Deflecting some pressure off his players, De Zerbi said: "We have two points less than West Ham and West Ham have to play a difficult game as well, like us.

"Okay, it's not the best moment for us, it's a tough moment, it's a difficult moment, but the losers cry, the losers think negatively. I don't want people close to me crying or to think in a different way than me. That was clear?"

He added: "We have to die on the pitch and to die on the pitch, we have to lose the game, and before losing the game, we have to play, we have to fight."

On how he plans to approach Sunday night's clash, De Zerbi said: "Keeping the ball, showing our qualities, because if we have a chance to win the game, it's because we have great players, for me, and fight, run, defend everyone together with order, with the right organisation.

"Without the ball, for sure, because we have to defend, but we have to attack and to keep the ball and to enjoy with the ball. To try the one-to-one on the wingers' side. To play when we have the right time and the right space between the lines. That's my idea."

On the fans, De Zerbi said: "They showed their passion with Brighton at home. It was an incredible atmosphere, and we have our responsibilities also for them.

"They showed their passion in Wolverhampton, because they were fantastic with us. It's not so easy to see another stadium in this position of the table to give the same support, the same love they gave against Brighton or in Wolverhampton."

Tottenham Hotspur loanee Luka Vuskovic has seen his market value increase despite not yet making a competitive appearance for the club

Luka Vuskovic’s transfer value has seemingly increased despite not yet making an appearance for Tottenham Hotspur. Vuskovic, 19, is currently on loan at German club Hamburger SV, moving to the Bundesliga outfit last summer after officially becoming a Spurs player.

Spurs agreed a deal to sign Vuskovic back in 2023 when he was 16 years old at Hajduk Split, with the defender moving to north London last summer.

Upon his official switch to Tottenham, Vuskovic moved to Hamburger SV last summer to gain valuable first-team experience, and has seen his transfer value increase as a result.

The CIES Football Observatory have crunched the numbers and stated that Vuskovic’s market value currently stands between €42million (£36.3million) and €49million (£42.3million).

The same website stated in August last year that Vuskovic’s value was around €37.8million (£32.7million), which marks potentially a £9.6million increase in eight months despite not making a single appearance for Tottenham.

Vuskovic will be expected to return to Tottenham this summer but faces an uncertain future due to the club’s position in the Premier League table.

Spurs are currently in 18th place in the Premier League standings and just two points above the relegation zone with four matches left to play, and will face Aston Villa on Sunday as they look to move out of the drop zone.

Vuskovic has been battling injury during his loan spell at Hamburg, having spent three weeks on the sidelines with a knee issue.

The young centre-back has reportedly been suffering from ‘knee contusion’, but Hamburger SV boss Merlin Polzin recently offered an optimistic update about Vuskovic’s fitness, with the defender taking part in a light recovery session.

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“First of all, this is really good: sunshine, Luka is here. Wonderful,” Polzin said.

“It gives me a good feeling that the pain has subsided."

Vuskovic made his return from injury as a late substitute during Hamburg’s 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, which was the defender’s 28th appearance across all competitions during his loan spell this season.

Vuskovic will also have an eye on featuring for Croatia at this summer’s World Cup, with the 19-year-old already featuring four times for his country before the tournament across the Atlantic, which begins next month.

Roberto De Zerbi has four games to keep Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Antonin Kinsky has backed Tottenham Hotspur to avoid relegation from the English top-flight. Last weekend, the 23-year-old goalkeeper helped the Lilywhites seal their first Premier League win of the year, making a crucial save in the dying embers of stoppage time to deny Joao Gomes.

Although Nottingham Forest and West Ham also tasted victory, keeping Spurs in the bottom three, the result at Molineux injected newfound belief and confidence into Roberto De Zerbi's side. Now, Tottenham have four games to climb out of the relegation zone.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Sunday night's clash against Aston Villa, Kinsky revealed he believes the Lilywhites have what it takes to escape the drop. On how he sees the fight for survival, he said: "It's just positive.

"I think if anyone from us would feel different, then there is no point of being within the squad. Where it all starts, it's here. And if you don't believe it, then you can't achieve it.

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"So this is the most important thing. OK, do your best to be prepared, but first of all, you need to have the goal and believe it. Otherwise, everything is pointless. So I believe everyone is like this, and I believe this is what's going to help us a lot."

On the impact of De Zerbi, who replaced Igor Tudor in the dugout at the end of March, Kinsky said: "By the way he speaks, what you read and what you hear from him is that he believes in us and that is a big message that he gives us overall: that the quality is there in the squad.

"It's just not to speak about it but to show it. With the combination, with the style that he wants to play, I think our squad fits to that so I believe this is going to work. Now we have four points from three games, there is four left and I hope and I believe that this is the right way."

Earlier this year, Kinsky marked his Champions League debut with a catalogue of mistakes. The Czech international made a few high-profile errors in the first leg of the last-16 and was taken off shortly before the half-hour mark.

On the defeat to Atletico Madrid, Kinsky said: "It was a moment, debut in the Champions League, that I was dreaming of as a young boy. For me, this was the thing that I was going for.

"I was looking forward to it so much. Of course, after the game, I was sad that this happened, but on the other hand, I was calm. I have good people around me who always give me good feedback, what they really think about it and they are honest with me.

"So, I spoke to them a lot, I listened to them, then I compared it to my feelings and they were similar. So, upon me, it was just to keep going and make sure that when the next opportunity comes, I will be ready again."

The Tottenham goalkeeper added: "I would say I'm stronger by that one experience. It's not like before I would feel weak, now I feel stronger because I made [that experience].

"You make it because you are strong already and it makes you just stronger and it helps you just to grow. There is always so much things to improve, so it just shows you the things that you can get better at or mentally to adjust a little bit the approach towards the game."

football.londonreporters select their Tottenham starting XIs for Sunday's huge Premier League trip to Aston Villa

Roberto De Zerbi has claimed it will not be a miracle if Tottenham win at Villa Park this weekend.

It feels like the world is against his Spurs side at the moment in their quest to avoid the Premier League drop.

Last weekend, the Europa League winners lost Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke to injury and now the squad will have to rally themselves again as they bid to build on last week's important triumph at Wolves.

football.london reporters Alasdair Gold (chief Tottenham correspondent) and Ryan Taylor select the Tottenham XIs they would like to see against Villa, who will have one eye on next week's Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest following defeat at the City Ground.

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Alasdair Gold - Chief Tottenham Correspondent

Having no Xavi is of course a huge blow and it means De Zerbi will have to go for width as the main creator for his team rather than any playmaker. That means Mathys Tel should come into the side on the left wing with Randal Kolo Muani out on the right and Richarlison will likely come in for Solanke and be prepared to get his head on as many crosses as possible from the wingers and Pedro Porro.

I would like to see Lucas Bergvall given a go in the number 10 role, but I think De Zerbi will probably stick with Conor Gallagher as he trusts the 26-year-old's work rate and experience.

Behind the attack, the rest of the team will probably remain unchanged. The Spurs boss told football.london that Destiny Udogie could be back in contention but he might stick with Djed Spence to start rather than throw the Italian straight back into the fray after his injury woes.

Joao Palhinha netted an important goal on Saturday but I think De Zerbi will stick with the pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma for a third straight game in order to build a partnership there.

Gold's Tottenham XI vs Aston Villa: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Bissouma; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison.

Ryan Taylor

Roberto De Zerbi's hand will be forced following Xavi Simons' ACL injury but luckily, Tottenham have a natural replacement in Mathys Tel ready to make his mark.

Antonin Kinsky has been superb in recent weeks, while there should be just one change in the back four if Destiny Udogie is fit to play as the Italian should replace Djed Spence.

Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven complete the backline.

In midfield, Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha will take care of business and lock the centre of the pitch down.

That will provide the forwards with a platform to express themselves and grab the goals Spurs require.

Tel can play from the left, Randal Kolo Muani should feature on the right with Conor Gallagher supporting Richarlison as the No.10, pressing from the front.

It's a big game for Richarlison in particular as he needs to step up in the absence of Dominic Solanke, who suffered a hamstring problem at Molineux last weekend.