Tottenham and Aston Villa will begin Saturday’s Premier League programme when they meet on 19 September, with both sides looking to change the direction of disappointing league campaigns.
Tottenham have endured a particularly poor start under Roberto De Zerbi despite spending around half a billion on transfers over the summer. After four matches, they remain without a victory, having drawn twice and lost twice.
The London club have collected only two points and sit 17th in the table, just above the relegation places. Their problems in front of goal have been even more severe: Tottenham are yet to score in the league, while conceding five times.
Aston Villa are positioned even lower, in 19th place, with only one point from their opening four fixtures. However, the circumstances surrounding Unai Emery’s side are markedly different.
Villa lost more than half of their first-team squad during the summer, with all of their leading players moving to top European clubs. The scale of that change made a difficult beginning almost inevitable. While their league form has been poor, the club’s performances in other competitions have been positive.
Head-to-head record
Tottenham have not won any of their past four matches, whereas Aston Villa have suffered just one defeat in their last four games.
The teams have met 180 times in all competitions. Tottenham have recorded 80 victories, compared with 64 wins for Aston Villa, while the remaining 36 matches ended level.
The bookmakers’ markets give Tottenham the advantage before the meeting, despite the two clubs’ difficult starts to the season.
Prediction
The available form suggests Aston Villa may be beginning to recover, while Tottenham have yet to show clear signs of improvement. Even so, the forecast is for the points to be shared in London.
A draw is considered the fairest outcome for a match between two teams still searching for consistency.