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English Premier League Preview: Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur [Fri Sep 16th, 2005]
Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur in this Saturday’s late kickoff, and with Villa unbeaten at home this season and Spurs unbeaten and yet to concede away, it looks like a mouth-watering game awaits at Villa Park.
Villa will be looking for a win to ease the unrest after a 4-0 drubbing by Premiership new boys West Ham. Spurs will also be looking to get back to winning ways after two 0-0 draws and a 2-0 loss in their last three games.
BACKGROUND
Aston Villa are quickly becoming the joke of the Premier League, with signings like Milan Baros offset by the departure of one of their most talented players (Nobby Solano) it is easy to see why Villa fans have given up trying.
One fan in particular is now refusing to go and watch Villa play as he “refuses to pay their wages when they produce such abysmal performances.†Unfortunately, I think that this trend will continue in this week's match-up against Spurs.
Tottenham on the other hand are a team in the midst of a revolution, the signings over the close season and the last minute transfer window purchases look to have produced a strong squad, capable of grinding out draws and hopefully holding on to leads where once they collapsed.
The signing of Lee Young-Pyo looks to be a very shrewd one, with the Korean motoring up and down that wing and providing some much-needed width and support for the midfield and attack. The only worry for Spurs is really what system to play so that they can fit all of their young stars in.
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa:
Aston Villa look set to hand a home debut to James Milner, and look like fielding a similar team to the one that were schooled by West Ham on Monday. Milan Baros looks set to continue up front but O’Leary may be forced to replace Gavin McCann with Eric Djemba-Djemba, as McCann may not shake off an injury in time for the game.
Tottenham:
Tottenham are definitetly without Routledge and Davis though injury, and the suspended Mido. Michael Dawson picked up a knock in training and may be forced to accept a role on the bench or the stands. King looks set to continue his comeback from injury by retaining his place in the centre of midfield.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa:
Former Spurs target James Milner lines up for the Villans but I do feel that as a youngster his reputation is a bit overrated. If I had to pick one Villa player it would be Milan Baros, he is out to prove a point and although relatively ineffective for Liverpool, he showed his talent during Euro 2004 where he finished top scorer.
Tottenham Hotspur:
Being a Tottenham fan this is clearly going to be biased, but I find it very hard to pick a player to watch. On the one hand you have the majestic Defoe, who can make things happen out of nothing, but then there is also Edgar Davids, the pitbull and one of the best midfielders over the last decade.
Finally we have Paul Robinson between the sticks, rated very highly by all pundits and critics I feel that he is the most important and influential player that spurs have in their squad. Watch all three.
PROBABLE STARTING LINE UPS
Aston Villa:
Pretty much unchanged for Aston Villa, as O’Dreary does not have a deep enough squad to drop poorly performing players.
Taylor, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Bouma, Milner, Hendrie, McCann (Djemba Djemba), Barry, Angel, Baros
Tottenham:
The Tottenham formation is a difficult one, with Jol wanting to include Jenas, Carrick and Davids, I think he may choose to drop Lennon to the bench and play Jenas wider on the right.
Robinson, Lee, Stalteri, King, Dawson (Gardner), Davids, Carrick, Jenas, Reid, Defoe, Rasiak
David Levene
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