Aston Villa vs Spurs

Villa gave their Champions League hopes a sizeable boost last weekend with a narrow victory over Bournemouth. It was far from a vintage display from Unai Emery’s men, however, with Chelsea slipping up against Newcastle on Sunday, the victory put them level on points with the fifth-placed Blues and they will fancy their chances of swooping in to steal that final UCL spot.

Villa’s form has been excellent with seven wins in their last eight matches, five of which were accompanied by clean sheets. They are also formidable at Villa Park and have remained unbeaten here since August 24th. Although there was some frustration at not being able to beat Ipswich and West Ham here, recent success against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle will give them plenty of confidence coming into this fixture.

Notwithstanding Manchester United’s ongoing issues, a trip to Old Trafford on the final day isn’t the easiest fixture for Emery’s men, putting this game in the ‘must-win’ category.

Spurs are languishing in 17th and will be keen to put this domestic campaign firmly behind them. They may also have the upcoming Europa League final on their minds and may struggle to motivate themselves for a Friday night trip to Villa Park under the lights.

It’s been over a month since Ange Postecoglu’s men were victorious in the Premier League and almost three months since they won on the road (vs Ipswich on Feb.22). They’ve conceded ten goals across their last three away trips and have lost four of their five visits to top-six opposition so far this campaign.

A defeat here would make it 21 defeats in 37 PL matches and with both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski both out until next season, they may lack some dynamism going forward. They are unlikely to turn their form around on Friday evening.