Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a Premier League match that could prove crucial to determining which side finishes in the fourth and final guaranteed UEFA Champions League place this season.
Fourth-place Villa (17-6-4, 55 points) currently lead Spurs by five points in that pursuit, though Tottenham has a game in hand. And if Unai Emery can help his squad maintain that lead, it would represent the Birmingham club’s first qualification for Europe’s top competition since winning the 1981-82 European Cup qualified the team for the 1982-83 tournament.
They will approach the Sunday contest buoyed by the exceptional form of Ollie Watkins, who has scored six of his team-leading 16 Premier League goals in his past five appearances.
Yet despite a three-match league winning streak, Villa knows the past two times they hosted another European aspirant, they lost to Manchester United and Newcastle.
“For me, it’s very important to try to show our level,” Emery said. “We played before in the last two months at home against top teams like Newcastle United and Manchester United. We lost, but we worked after those matches, analyzing deeply to understand why and how we can react.”
Villa are also facing a short turnaround following a 0-0 draw against Ajax in Amsterdam on Thursday during the first leg of their round-of-16 UEFA Europa League series.
Meanwhile, Spurs (15-6-5, 50 points) have had a full week to digest their rousing 3-1 home victory over Crystal Palace.
Ange Postecoglou’s squad trailed 1-0 after Palace’s Eberechi Eze stunned the home crowd with a sensational free kick early in the second half.
But Timo Werner’s 77th-minute leveler began a late onslaught, with Cristian Romero and Son Heung-Min scoring inside the final 10 minutes to secure all three points.
It was Werner’s first goal for Spurs after his arrival on loan in January, acquired in part as cover for Son while Spurs’ top scorer was playing for South Korea at the Asian Cup.
But even if the chance conversion rate hasn’t been exceptional, Postecoglou says he will continue to lean on Werner down this stretch run. For the moment, Werner could be charged with filling the void left by Richarlison, who missed the Palace game with a knee issue.
“I think he’s been really important,” Postecoglou said of Werner. “If we hadn’t brought him in there would have been far more of a burden on the other players, especially with Sonny away. We threw him straight in. He’s made an impact, but I think he can get even better.”
–Field Level Media