Sky Sports football pundit Charlie Nicholas has shared his predictions for the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
The former Arsenal player has also shared his thoughts on this evening’s match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.
Spurs were busier than they have been for some time in the transfer window after recruiting four new players in Jack Clarke, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon.
Only two of the new players have the chance of featuring in Ndombele and Lo Celso with Sessegnon injured and Clarke on a season long loan deal at former club Leeds.
Nicholas believes that Spurs will have to be patient when they host Villa and will have to wait until the latter stages of the game to pick up the victory.
When playing their first game of the Premier League season at home, Tottenham have lost just once (W2 D3), with that defeat coming against Manchester United in 1997-98.
Nicholas told Sky Sports: “Aston Villa have done a lot of business. Villa are a big club. Dean Smith likes to play with a nice, attacking style. His number two is based upon a strong defensive unit and John Terry knows what that is about.
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“They have a bundle of energy in midfield and decent options up front. They create a lot of chances and miss a lot of chances too. They look promising and I don’t see them being in the relegation battle.
“Harry Kane always tends to start slow and people ask questions. It has taken time for Tottenham to adjust to this stadium and it will take them time to break Villa down, perhaps the 70th to 75th minute. Spurs’ goals will come late on.
“Prediction: 3-1.”
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