Chris Sutton predicts Aston Villa will earn a narrow home win in an exciting top-four fight against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend (BBC).
The Villans are currently five points ahead of the Lilywhites, their closest rivals for automatic Champions League qualification, although Tottenham do have a game in hand.
If Spurs can take three points off Villa this weekend and win that game in hand, they suddenly leapfrog their way into the top four, so this Sunday’s showdown could be a huge one in the Champions League race.
The last time the two sides met, Aston Villa recorded a 2-1 away win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, it must be said that Spurs were without James Maddison, Micky Van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison that day.
This time, Ange Postecoglou arrives with a near-fully fit squad to choose from and fresh off the back of a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace last time out.
Unfortunately, Chris Sutton still expects Aston Villa to walk away with all three points, albeit from an exciting five-goal thriller on Super Sunday.
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Sutton said: “What I have found difficult about making predictions this season is that there seems to be more games where there is not an outcome that would surprise me.
“I’d usually expect some patterns to be obvious where you automatically think one team is going to win or lose but there have not been many so far, other than those involving the clubs at the very bottom of the table. Instead, this is another example of a game where Villa could win or lose 3-0, or it could be a 3-3 draw.
“Villa’s home form was very reliable for a while but even that has dropped off in the past few weeks and, although I am still going to say they will edge this, it is only a guess and not really based on anything concrete.
“I know Villa won the reverse fixture, but they were quite fortunate and also it was against a Tottenham team who were missing some key men like James Maddison through injury and suspension.
“Maddison will make a difference this time, and if the Spurs attack clicks then they will be dangerous. But you could say the same about Villa, and in-form Ollie Watkins, too and I don’t think he will have a quiet afternoon.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I do expect it to be quite an open game on Sunday with lots of goals, so I’m with Chris Sutton there. It also has the feeling of a tie that could decide who finishes fourth come the end of the season. If Spurs lose, the mountain may be too tall. But if they win, they move back into the driver’s seat.
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