please log in to view this image Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park on Sunday 20th October 2013 (KO 16:00) in the 8th round of 2013-14 Premier League. Villa come into the match in 10th place in the Table on 10 points with Spurs in 6th place on 13 points. The clubs recently met in the Football League Cup at Villa Park with Spurs winning 4-0. The match at will be the 166th time the two teams have met. Tottenham Hotspur first played Aston Villa on 11th April 1896 when Spurs were still in the Southern League. The friendly match played at Tottenham Marshes ended with a 3-1 win for Aston Villa. Three more friendlies were played until the clubs met in anger for the first time in the old Third Round of the FA Cup (today's 5th Round) in March 1903 with Villa winning 3-2. The first Football League meeting came on 20th November 1909 in the First Division after Spurs had been promoted after their first season of League football. Villa once again won 3-2. There have been two Wembley matches played between the two clubs. The first was in the 1971 Football League Cup Final which Spurs won 2-0 with two goals from Martin Chivers - Aston Villa were in the Third Division at the time. The second game at Wembley came in the 1981 Charity Shield with FA Cup Winners Spurs drawing 2-2 with Football League Champions Aston Villa. Mark Falco scored both Spurs goals and Peter Withe did likewise for Villa. The last time the two clubs met in a domestic cup tie was in the 5th Round of the League Cup in January 1994 with Villa winning 2-1. Both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were founder-members of the Premier League in 1992-93 and the two clubs, along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United are among the only seven ever-present clubs during the competition's 22 season history. Spurs did the 'double' over Villa in 2010-11 winning both matches 2-1 with Rafael van der Vaart scoring all of Tottenham's four goals. Villa's two goals both came from Marc Albrighton at White Hart Lane in October and Villa Park in December, after Spurs had been reduced to ten men after Jermain Defoe's red card after 27 minutes. Spurs signed former Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel during the summer of 2011 on a free transfer. Alan Hutton made a move in the opposite direction and Jermaine Jenas joined Villa on a season's loan. The 2011-12 match at White Hart Lane last season took place on Monday 21st November and resulted in a 2-0 win for Tottenham. Two first half goals from Emmanuel Adebayor after 14 and 40 minutes were enough to see Spurs take all three points in a game marked by Harry Redknapp's return after undergoing minor heart surgery. In January 2012 former Spurs striker Robbie Keane had a loan spell with Aston Villa scoring 3 times in 7 appearances. The match at Villa Park in April 2012 finished 1-1 with Ciaran Clark putting Villa ahead with a 25-yard shot that deflected off William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a 62nd minute penalty to level the proceedings. This fixture at White Hart Lane in October 2012 resulted in a 2-0 win for Spurs. After a goalless first half, Steven Caulker put Spurs ahead after 58 minutes when he deflected-in Jermain Defoe's close range shot and Aaron Lennon added a second in the 67th minute with a powerful shot into the far corner of the net. Villa were in a very generous mood when they hosted Spurs on Boxing Day 2012 with Spurs coming away with all three points after a 4-0 win. Jermain Defoe opened the scoring and Gareth Bale added a hat-trick. The clubs met in the Football League (Capital One) Cup in September 2013 with Spurs coming away from the 3rd Round match at Villa Park with another 4-0 win, thanks to two goals from Jermain Defoe and goals from Paulinho and Nacer Chadli. Sunday's game at Villa Park will be the 166th match played between the two clubs and Spurs have the edge with 67 wins to Villa's 59 with 39 matches having been drawn. please log in to view this image Full Record of Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa Matches 1896-2013 please log in to view this image They Played for Spurs & Villa.... Darren Bent Guðni Bergsson (Villa trialist) Danny Blanchflower Mark Burke (Spurs trialist) Colin Calderwood Jimmy Cantrell Billy Cook Peter Crouch Simon Dawkins Ronnie Dix Brad Friedel David Ginola George Graham (Villa player, Spurs manager) Andy Gray James Gray Steve Hodge please log in to view this image Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2013-14 Aston Villa Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2013-14 please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose* Sandro, Dembele Lamela, Eriksen, Townsend Soldado *If unfit then either Naughton at LB or Chiriches in at CB with Jan LB. Subs: Brad, Chiriches/ Naughton, Holtby, Paulinho, Sig, Lennon, Defoe Tough game, reckon 2-1 Spurs.
I want Holtby to start and Lennon too, if fit, otherwise Chadli. Definitely agree on Sandro though, Villa like to counter attack so he has to play in my view. Tempted to think that we should play Defoe again but I really think we need Soldado to get goals and Villa are the kind of side he should definitely get chances against.
****, forgot about Chadli. I'd have him on the bench over Lennon just for Villa, not sure Azza will be fit enough yet apart from a 10-15 min cameo.
Easily done mate. Just had a quick look on villa talk and they expect benteke to be back. Although likely to come off the bench and overall it's fairly similar to the west Ham fans who believed they never stood a chance, yet look what happened. It's easy to underestimate villa. Especially after our recent meetings and their lack of experience but this is another game that could be a slip up. I know villa like to close down quickly in matches where they feel outclassed on paper as it allows them to frustrate and get a hold in the game, similar to what they done against Arsenal and Chelsea, so I definitely want Sandro in there to add some strength and cover for counter attacks. Townsend is the man of the moment, so let's use his confidence and use his width. Not overly confident and expect a tough game, Avb spoke about '' a wake up call ''...... Easy to say but let's hope the players perform as if the last game was' 'a wake up call ''.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24551097 What a superb record the lad has, in hindsight I think we made a mistake not pushing through the bid for him in the summer.
I was sure Lukaku was the Belgian striker we wanted, and it turned out it was both, or either. This is a tough lineup to pick. Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose/Fryers Paulinho, Dembele/Sandro Gylfi/Holtby, Eriksen, Townsend Soldado We need goals, Gylfi's scored them and Holtby's been setting them up. You can make a good case for trying something different with Holtby and Eriksen. I can't see starting Lamela over Townsend on the right. Putting Townsend on the left and Lamela on the right would certainly be bold. We might want to consider who's fresh at the moment, a group that includes Dawson, Rose, Sandro, Holtby and Soldado, I think.
Don't remember us ever being in for Lukaku, nice thought as hes a complete beast but definitely never made a bid for him this summer.
Rumours from VP that Benteke could return for this game, dangerous player but not match fit, so although slightly concerning, I'd be surprised if he started.
In pre season it looked as if lakaku was being played in preparation for being their number 1 striker, plus there was an interview where he said Chelsea wouldn't sell him to a direct rival. Strange decision to loan him to Everton but he's still in their long term plans and Mourinho will likely get rid of torres or ba next year.
Yeh that's what made me say it. Defense picks itself atm. For me we should play - ---------Sandro---Dembele--------- Townsend----Erikson----Lamela ---------------Soldado------------- With Holtby, Defoe and another as subs. Sandro needs to get up to speed, as does Lamela. Chadli and Gylfi need to add more during the build up of play.
LOL Maybe THFC was playing a game you be awarded your prize later. Big fan of Lamela and he needs to start at some point but then so does Holtby. Avb doesn't like to take many risks so I don't expect many of the changes we want so I'm expecting Lamela and Holtby to be on the bench.
Yeh, Holtby deserves a start, but then gylfi doesn't deserve to be dropped really as he is scoring. But then Paulinho, Sandro, Chadli and Lamela all need game time to get up to speed....and that is before Lennon and Capoue are fit and Chariches is up to speed. It's all well and good having a big squad, but that is when everyone is familiar and knows their place. Intergrating this many new players into an already unsettled squad is a bit of a 'mare.
My view is that if we get players like Sandro and Lamela to the level they are capable of, then these players are the ones which will help us become a force. Players like Siggy, Capoue and holtby are all good players and definitely need to be used at the right time but we have to remember what our aim is, to finish top four and not just keep everyone happy so I want Avb to start using our best players and get the best team out performing, as look around us, arsenal, chelsea, liverpool, man city, man utd and everton, alot of competition this year and it will be the great players that make the difference.
I don't really know who to pick, and I doubt AVB or anyone else does either. Picking the players with the most potential has its merits, but so does picking on form. I think I'd pick on form, if only to have some justifications available when people complain.
But do we know who our best players are yet,i think you have to play the form players,because even the "best players" lose form
