Tottenham Hotspur are set to play Aston Villa this weekend. It is a game that is a mere formality for the North Londoners given how they will line up in Birmingham this weekend with their heads in Bilbao ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s side facing Premier League rivals Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League finals on May 21. The game is set for a late kick-off this Friday given how it was rescheduled from Sunday to Friday at the Lilywhites’ request to allow more preparation time for their big game in the midweek. The decision to reschedule the game did spark massive controversy, especially from the Villans, given how Unai Emery was denied a similar request earlier in the season during their UEFA Champions League campaign.
This will be a massive game for the hosts given how they are currently placed sixth (6th) in the Premier League ladder with 63 points and looking to qualify for the Champions League for a second season in a row, and a win this weekend would help their cause wisely. While the domestic form at Hotspur Way has been quite difficult, which is well depicted in their 17th league position with only 38 points. But at N17, this is not the time to aggregate domestic form but rather a time to concentrate on the upcoming Europa League finals, which can not only end up salvaging their season but also secure a possible Champions League qualification .
Aston Villa vs Tottenham – When & Where?
Date: Friday, May 16, 2025
Kick-off: 7:30 PM BST
Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham
Team News
TTLB Opinion: Tactical game plans that Ange Postecoglou could adapt against Bodo/Glimt.
Will Son Heung-min get a some game time in Aston Villa vs Tottenham?
If we start with the hosts, they will have a few marquee absentees, with Youri Tielemans and Marcus Rashford serving the sidelines while Jacob Ramsey serves a suspension.
But if we are talking injuries, the list at Hotspur Way is quite large given how Ange Postecoglou has added both of their creative outlets, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, to the sidelines with knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
Radu Dragusin remains out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.
Swede forward Dejan Kulusevski is also suffering from a knee problem, which leaves him doubtful for this weekend’s fixture.
South Korean international Heung-Min Son is expected to finally return from his injury and to get some minutes under his belt ahead of the Europa League final .
Tactical Preview
Unai Emery has taken Aston Villa to new heights. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
The hosts have a strong home record under Unai Emery, given how they are unbeaten at Villa Park in the Premier League this calendar year and have won seven of their last eight league games, showing not only effective offensive sequences but also strong defensive play. While you’d expect Ange Postecoglou to rotate his squad quite heavily given he has to keep his key players fresh for the Europa League final, this means that we should see the visitors give some opportunities to fringe players (and also hopefully some young players).
Now this game will see two head coaches operating under very different mindsets given where both the clubs are placed at this point in the season, and that should be evident from the opening whistle, where Unai Emery’s Villa will go into this trying to dominate the half-spaces, control midfield transitions, and exploit Tottenham’s defensive problems (mainly down the channels). I am expecting the hosts to take up a compact 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 hybrid shape where the wide receivers will be tucked in a bit narrow to get an upper hand in those central areas, and this also will likely force Tottenham to bring in their players into a more compact structure to meet the demands, and this will help them to bring their full-backs higher. The way that Emery’s side likes to grab an upper hand, you can expect high engagement in the middle of the park, and then they look to get to an aggressive press when the ball is forced wide.
Coming to Ange Postecoglou, the Australian head coach will have a few things on his mind; one would be to rest his key players ahead of the big finals, and another would be to test a few in-game systems that he can implement against Manchester United.
Tottenham will be looking to build from the back and switch into their usual 2-3-5 shape in possession where Ange will look to bring some vertical movements from the wide forwards and use someone like Tel to hold width and stretch the back line.
Without Maddison, the key here would be if Tottenham can resist going into the traps that Emery would set up down the middle and build centrally. If not, the hosts will likely end up turning regains into transitions.
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Score Predictions
If we complement how strong Villa have been at home of late and then how Tottenham will likely play a second fiddle side, I am thinking Villa will get the three points, maybe on a 2-1 scoreline.