Aston Villa vs Tottenham LIVE: Champions League hopefuls clash in pivotal showdown – kick-off time, team news and how to follow

Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa and Tottenham meet in a must-win game for both Premier League teams this weekend.

Both teams claimed top-flight wins last time out to bolster their ambitions of finishing in the top four.

Villa battled back to a 3-2 win over Luton to cement their place at the bottom of the Champions League.

However, Tottenham closed the gap in fifth place to five points after a 3-1 victory against crystal Palace and you still have a game on your hands.

Ange Postecoglou''s men cannot afford to see the gap on Villa widen to eight points, having lost their last three Premier League games against the West Midlands side.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham: who is the player

Olivia Watkins He scored a brace in the win over Luton to cement his tag as one of the Premier League's standout players this season.

His double took him to 16 goals for the season, just two behind. city ​​of manchester's Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.

His figure is also the highest in a single Premier League campaign.

In fact, only two players have scored more in a season in the competition for Aston Villa: Christian Benteke (19 in 2012-13) and Dwight Yorke (17 in both 1995-96 and 1996-97).

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Watkins also enjoys playing against Spurs, having scored three and won four of his seven games for the club, including the winner in the first leg in November.

Your form has seen Alan Shearer tip him not only for England Euro 2024 team but start next Harry Kane.

Shearer told the Athletic: “He plays Ollie Watkins in the role of number 9.

“Kane can return to the number 10 slot, which we all know is a natural part of his game and where he has been key in creating England, Tottenham and Bayern Munich.

“Bellingham would occupy a deeper midfield position alongside Rice. Foden and Saka still attack from the outside.

“Yes, it would be the first time as the two have never shared a pitch with England, but this season, Watkins looks like the most improved player in the Premier League.”

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• Aston Villa have won their last three Premier League games against Tottenham, their longest league winning streak over Spurs since January 1996 (a streak of 4).
• After a run of 11 unbeaten Premier League visits to Villa Park from March 2009 to April 2022 (9 wins and 2 draws), Spurs lost exactly this match last season 2-1. They last suffered back-to-back league defeats to Aston Villa in November 2004.
• Aston Villa have scored 59 goals in the Premier League this season, the most in a season at this level since 2007-08 under Martin O'Neill (71). It is their highest number at this point in a season in the top flight since 1932-33 (68).

Aston Villa vs Tottenham: team news

The hosts will be without Jacob Ramsey after the midfielder limped off in the club's 3-2 win at luton city Last weekend.

Boubacar Kamara, Tyrone MingsEmiliano Buendía, Jhon Durán, and diego carlos Everyone remains in the treatment room.

The Spurs will be without several key players due to injuries, with richarlison facing a race against time to return.

Pedro Porro is also approaching a comeback, but Fraser ForsterManor Solomon, and Ryan Sessegnon They are all long-term absentees.

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• Tottenham have only won one of their last six Premier League away games (D3 L2) despite scoring two or more goals in five of those games, all of them in their last five trips. The last time Spurs scored more than 2 goals in six consecutive away league games was between May and September 2017.
• Aston Villa have won four of their last five Premier League games, including the last three in a row. It is his fourth streak of more than 3 consecutive victories under Unai Emery, something that only two managers had achieved for Villa since the departure of Martin O'Neill in 2010 and before Emery's appointment (Dean Smith in 2020 and Steven Gerrard in 2022) .
• Spurs have scored in all 26 Premier League games under Ange Postecoglou so far, the best run of goals in a manager's first game in the English top flight since Arthur Rowe with Spurs in the 1950-51 season, when they won the title (scored in the first 27 games).

Aston Villa vs Tottenham: What has been said?

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara is desperate for Harry Kane to fail in their quest for Champions League glory this season.

“I don't know if I would like him to win the Champions League, I wanted him to go out and win the Bundesliga,” he said in the sports bar.

“He had the opportunity to do that with Spurs and we did it wrong, didn't we?

“He left us and if he wins the Champions League, it's almost like saying: 'Yeah, look, I told you, Spurs weren't big enough, so I moved on and got into a better team.'

“I don't know if I would like Kane to win the Champions League, not yet, next season is fine, because the first season is gone… you know what I mean?

“If it wasn't for the arrival of Ange (Postecoglou), we were in the mud and Ange really pulled us out of a hole and turned the luck around and it seems like we're fine.

“But still, your star player leaves you because he basically says, 'I don't want to be here anymore because we're not competing at the highest level and I want to go and win the Champions League.'

“And then they go and win the Champions League, it's like a kick in the teeth for Tottenham, right?

“Look, I'm not going to lose sleep if he does it. I want him to win trophies, but not the Champions League yet.”

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• Aston Villa have conceded nine goals in their last four Premier League games at Villa Park (W2 L2), more than in their previous 16 at home (8). They have scored more than 2 goals in each of their last four, but won two of them (3-2 against Burnley, 4-2 against Nottm Forest); Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, Villa only won one of 31 games with more than 2 goals at home (D4 L26).
• Douglas Luiz's nine Premier League goals this season have come at Villa Park, with only Georginio Wijnaldum (11 in 2015-16) and Les Ferdinand (10 in 2000-01) scoring more in a campaign in which 100% It was at home. In his career, 16 of the Brazilian's 20 Premier League goals have come at Villa Park (80%), the highest proportion in a single stadium of any player with 20+ goals in the competition's history.
• Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, only Mohamed Salah (118) and Harry Kane (96) have more combined goals and assists in the Premier League than Spurs' Son Heung-min (63 goals, 29 assists). Son also has five goals in three appearances at Villa Park (one every 52 minutes); Among players who play more than 250 minutes in a Premier League stadium, only Luis Suárez at Carrow Road (one every 38 minutes) has a better minutes-to-goal ratio than Son at Villa Park.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham: how to follow

This Premier League match will take place on Sunday, March 10.

Kickoff at Villa Park is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. having been advanced one hour from its original time to accommodate Liverpool vs Manchester City.

talkSPORT will provide live updates throughout the afternoon, while talkSPORT.com will be on hand for the best reactions.