Tottenham Hotspur will be bidding to make it four Premier League victories in a row when they head to Villa Park on Saturday evening to take on Aston Villa.
Spurs are currently fourth in the table, level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal in the race for a top-four spot, while Villa occupy 11th position, one point behind 10th-placed Leicester City.
Match preview
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Villa have won 11, drawn three and lost 16 of their 30 Premier League matches this season to collect 36 points, which has left them in 11th spot in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Steven Gerrard's side are only one point behind ninth-placed Crystal Palace, meaning that a top-half finish is certainly achievable, but they are currently on a three-game losing run in the Premier League, with West Ham United, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers beating them over the last few weeks.
Villa's last victory came at Leeds United on March 10, and they have struggled for consistency in front of their own supporters this season, picking up just 18 points from their 14 league games at Villa Park.
Gerrard's team still have to face Liverpool and Manchester City before the end of the campaign, while they will also have a say in the relegation battle, taking on Norwich City and Burnley (twice).
Villa suffered a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the reverse match between the two sides in North London back in October, while they have not overcome Spurs at Villa Park in the Premier League since January 2008, with their last three league victories over the capital outfit coming on their travels.
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Tottenham have had their fair share of problems this season, but the North London club have, somewhat quietly, won six of their last eight Premier League matches to move into fourth spot in the table.
Antonio Conte's side have actually been victorious in five of their last six in the league, including their last three against Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United and Newcastle United, scoring 10 times in the process.
A total of 54 points from 30 matches has left Spurs in fourth position in the table, level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand, while Manchester United in seventh are just three points behind, and it is set to be a fascinating battle for a top-four finish.
Even Chelsea will now be looking over their shoulders in third, and there is still a lot of football to be played before the end of the campaign; Spurs have some touch matches as well, taking on Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal in three straight games between April 30 and May 12.
Harry Kane has found his best form in recent weeks after a slow start to the season, and the England captain could yet fire Tottenham to a top-four finish, but it remains to be seen whether that is enough to keep the centre-forward at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium heading into next season.
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Team News
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Gerrard said during his press conference that Marvelous Nakamba will come back into the squad this weekend after playing 60 minutes for the Under-23s, while Kortney Hause (abdominal) and Lucas Digne (illness) are also both available.
Danny Ings is also likely to return for the home side, having missed out against Wolves last time out due to the birth of his child, and the forward could feature alongside Ollie Watkins in attack.
Douglas Luiz is also expected to return in the middle of the park, potentially replacing Morgan Sanson, while Philippe Coutinho will feature as the number 10 for the home side on Saturday.
As for Spurs, Japhet Tanganga is out for the season following knee surgery, while Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) and Oliver Skipp (groin) remain unavailable for selection.
Sessegnon is now back in training but unlikely to be a part of the squad for this contest, with Conte remaining cautious over the youngster's return.
The visitors will be boosted by the return of Sergio Reguilon from a knee injury, although the Spaniard could find himself on the bench due to the performance of Emerson Royal against Newcastle.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the away side's XI this weekend, with Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski continuing as the front three in a 3-4-3 formation.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Coutinho; Ings, Watkins
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Doherty; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
We say: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham are winning a lot of football matches at the moment, and they were excellent going forward in last weekend's 5-1 win over Newcastle. Villa will make it difficult for Conte's side, but we believe that the visitors will have enough quality in the final third to put another huge three points on the board.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Tottenham Hotspur win with a probability of 52.44%. A win for Aston Villa had a probability of 24.29% and a draw had a probability of 23.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Tottenham Hotspur win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.57%) and 0-2 (8.54%). The likeliest Aston Villa win was 2-1 (6.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.92%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 2.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Tottenham Hotspur would win this match.
