Aston Villa will be bidding to set a new Premier League club record when they play Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.
On the back of last season's seventh-placed finish, Villa have collected 25 points from 12 games in 2023-24 to sit in fifth position in the standings this time around.
A four-point gap over sixth has been established, even though Unai Emery watched his team succumb to a surprise 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on November 5.
Sitting just three points adrift of top spot at a time when Manchester City and Liverpool meet each other this weekend, there is an opportunity for Villa to move further up the table.
Villa will also edge ahead of Spurs, who sit one point above them, if they can prevail from their showdown at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Emery will be focused on achieving that target, despite Villa being underdogs heading into the game in North London courtesy of losing three of their six away fixtures in the top flight this campaign.
© Reuters
Nevertheless, should Villa be able to overcome Ange Postecoglou's team, they will set a new club record for the amount of Premier League wins recorded in a calendar year.
That was equalled before the November international break, Villa registering a comfortable 3-1 success over Fulham at their home ground for their 21st Premier League victory of 2023.
While Villa possess a perfect home record, it has been a different story on their travels with just seven points coming from six games, yet they are unbeaten in five matches in London since Emery's arrival just over a year ago.
Furthermore, Emery has not lost a single Premier League game against Spurs, dating back to when he was in charge of Arsenal between May 2018 and November 2019.
From Spurs' perspective, they have not suffered defeat in consecutive home league matches against Villa since the start of 1995-96.
Villa posted a 2-0 triumph when these teams met in last season's corresponding fixture on New Year's Day, Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz netting second-half goals on that occasion.
Darren Plant
