Chris Sutton has locked in his prediction for Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur begin their FA Cup campaign on Saturday and the draw has not been kind to Thomas Frank and his team.
Spurs must face Aston Villa, who sit third in the Premier League table and were the side to get the better of them in this competition last season.
Worse still, Tottenham have more injury problems after the Bournemouth defeat with both Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur experiencing problems.
Chris Sutton predicts Tottenham to crash out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle
BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has claimed that Frank is in need of a cup run, but he does not see Spurs claiming a victory over Aston Villa.
Not only have Tottenham been poor, but Villa are thriving in the Premier League and the difference in quality between the two clubs could be the decisive factor in this fixture.
Sutton said: “Poor old Thomas Frank. He looked so happy at Brentford but Spurs have a habit of turning happy managers into total miseries.
“He really needs a win here, and a good run in the cup too, but when you compare the two teams, and the way they are playing, then there’s only one winner here – and that’s Villa.”
Sutton’s prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Aston Villa
Spurs have a shocking recent record against Aston Villa
Even when Tottenham have been playing better football, facing off against Villa has proved to be a difficult task in recent years.
Unai Emery’s team have defeated Spurs in each of their past three meetings and Frank himself has never recorded a victory over the Villa boss.
The odds certainly appear to be stacked against Tottenham and it is hard to make an argument against Sutton’s prediction on this occasion.
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