Tim Sherwood takes his Aston Villa side to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday looking to prove a point to his former employers.
Sacked by Spurs last summer despite having won half of his Premier League games in charge, Sherwood's return to White Hart Lane provides an intriguing subplot to a match which has implications for both the relegation battle and race for Europe.
Spurs
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Tottenham pretty much waved goodbye to their top-four hopes by virtue of their bore draw with Burnley last Sunday, which left them seven points adrift of Manchester City with as many games of the season remaining.
One of the flattest performances of the post-Christmas period in which Spurs have played with energy and hunger under Mauricio Pochettino, the Turf Moor stalemate was almost an indication that the Londoners have given up on their Champions League dreams for another year.
Missing out on Europe's top club competition arguably cost Pochettino's predecessor his job, but the Argentine does not appear to be in any danger of the chop as the Spurs hierarchy put their faith in him to marshall their young squad.
Finishing in their current position of sixth and a run to the Capital One Cup final would be reasons for Tottenham fans to be cheerful, but their biggest positive this term is undoubtedly the development of their home-grown talent.
Although he fired a blank on his first outing as captain against Burnley, Harry Kane tops the Premier League scoring charts with 19 goals, having netted only three prior to this season. Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Danny Rose are others to have benefitted greatly from Pochettino's arrival.
The whole Spurs squad has a rather youthful look to it, and there has been evidence this season that the future is indeed very bright. With some high-quality summer additions, they could come back and flirt more heavily with the top-four places next year.
For now, finishing above Liverpool, who currently head them on goal difference in fifth, is a reachable target. Tottenham have won four of their last five home games and will welcome Villa hoping to continue in that vein.
Recent form: DWWLWD
Recent form (all competitions): LWWLWD
Aston Villa
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By the time that Sherwood was let go by Spurs at the end of last season, he had already earned himself a fair few admirers in the game for his enthusiasm and honesty. It seemed only a matter of time before he picked up another Premier League job.
The 46-year-old was linked to both West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers before he snapped up the chance to take over at Villa Park. The Midlands club have benefitted from his positivity, but remain firmly in the relegation dogfight.
Sherwood admitted upon his arrival that getting Christian Benteke back to top form was going to be key to Villa's survival chances, and the Belgian striker has responded with seven goals in his last five matches.
The significance of his hat-trick in Tuesday's thrilling 3-3 draw with QPR will only be fully evident come the end of the campaign, but, for the time being, it kept the Villans three points clear of the drop zone, rather than one.
However, sharing the spoils with their fellow strugglers marked a third game in succession without victory for a Villa side who were threatening to run clear of danger when they won twice on the spin at the beginning of March.
While there is the potential distraction of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final of Liverpool at Wembley to look forward to, Sherwood must focus completely on Villa's league fortunes or risk being spat out by the Premier League as he was last summer.
Recent form: LWWLLD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLLD
Team News
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Spurs remain unsure on the fitness of Hugo Lloris, who is nursing a gashed leg, and therefore Michel Vorm is in line to continue in goal after making his first league start for the club last weekend.
Jan Vertonghen has shaken off an illness and will return in central defence, likely taking the burden of the armband away from Kane in the process. Kyle Walker is out with a foot problem and so Vlad Chiriches should keep his place, shifting across to right-back.
After bringing Paulinho in for just a second start of the season against Burnley, Pochettino may revert to a more conventional attacking midfielder now that he is back on home soil, with Andros Townsend hoping for a start.
Villa's injury problems are easing. Ron Vlaar, Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson all returned against QPR and Aly Cissokho may also be in contention at White Hart Lane.
Scott Sinclair, Alan Hutton and Ashley Westwood are unlikely to feature, though, meaning that Sherwood could stick with the majority of his most recent starting XI.
On the back of his first Premier League start, youngster Jack Grealish is perhaps the only player whose place is in jeopardy, with Charles N'Zogbia an alternative.
Spurs possible starting lineup:
Vorm; Chiriches, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend; Kane
Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Bacuna, Vlaar, Clark, Richardson; N'Zogbia, Cleverley, Sanchez, Delph; Agbonlahor, Benteke
Head To Head
While he was the hero for Villa in midweek, Benteke was the villain of the piece when these two sides met earlier this season as his sending-off allowed Spurs to complete a late comeback courtesy of Kane's deflected free kick.
That 2-1 success was Tottenham's seventh straight victory over Villa - the previous six had been won to nil - and they are actually unbeaten against the Midlands outfit since a 2-1 defeat in September 2008 - 14 matches ago.
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We say: Spurs 2-1 Villa
Villa's chances of causing an upset are boosted by Sherwood's inside knowledge of their opponents and Tottenham having less to play for with each passing game. However, Spurs have a commanding recent record against Villa and are on a hot streak at home.
Joe Fish
