Something has to give as Spurs host Aston Villa
By Ian King
Spurs and Villa have both had abject starts to 2026-27
If things continue this way, people will start to call it ‘The Curse of the Europa League.’ The last two winners of the Europe’s secondary cup competition meet at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with both in the bottom four of the Premier League.
Spurs and Aston Villa have played eight League games between them so far in 2026/27. They’ve managed one goal and three points in those games, and they go into this fixture in 17th and 19th places in the table respectively, with a three-week break for the losers of this lunchtime clash to ruminate over how their start to the new season has gone so terribly wrong.
Midweek Carabao Cup matches brought a win for Villa at Coventry City and a decent-ish performance for Spurs at Anfield, at the end of which Liverpool were slightly flattered by the final 3-1 scoreline. There were, then, small causes for some degree of optimism for both clubs, though neither have experienced that in the League yet.
Aston Villa handed Spurs one of their most important wins of 2026
There haven’t been that many of them, but one of Spurs’ most important wins of 2026 came at the start of May, when they overcame a lethargic performance by their hosts to secure a 2-1 win. Spurs ended up surviving relegation by two points.
Prior to this, though, Villa had an excellent record against Spurs. They’d won seven of their previous nine meetings, with the only Spurs wins both coming in 2024, when they won 4-0 at Villa Park in March and 4-1 at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November.
This wasn’t ever thus. The two clubs met after WW2 for the first time in 1950, and Spurs remained unbeaten against Villa until 1962, a run of 24 consecutive games.
Optimists may hope that they can repeat their meeting of the 19th March 1966, when they drew 5-5 at White Hart Lane, with Villa’s Tony Hateley managing the singular achievement of scoring four goals in a match without ending the afternoon on the winning team, although Villa did come from 5-1 down to get a draw.
Spurs overloaded their squad with wingers in the summer, but who’s going to put their chances away?
Following four games without one, Spurs desperately need a Premier League goal, a state of affairs which highlights the folly of stuffing their first-team squad with so many wingers while overlooking the need to bring in somebody who can finish the chances that those wingers create.
Dominic Solanke leads their attack and he’s certainly capable of scoring goals. His match ratings this season – when he’s appeared – have been poor, and he needs a goal to prove those who saw his team’s failure to move for a number nine over the summer wrong.
The big question that Villa fans will be asking is whether it’s time for them to see a full ninety minutes from Johan Manzambi. The defensive midfielder signed from Freiburg for £59.5 million during the summer, but injury has blocked his start to the new season. However, back-to-back appearances from the bench against Nottingham Forest and Coventry City will have raised expectations that he could finally make his full Aston Villa debut in this match.
After a red card on his debut, João Gomes could be set for his second Villa appearance
Spurs’ latest injury doubt is Sandro Tonali, who missed the midweek trip to Anfield with an unspecified knock, and may be left out again. James Maddison has only appeared from the bench so far this season, but he may start this match in Tonali’s place. Pedro Porro (muscle), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Xavi Simons (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (ankle) all remain longer-term absentees.
Villa welcome back João Gomes following the three-game suspension that he picked up for getting sent off on his Premier League debut against Brighton last month. Matty Cash (muscle) and Brian Madjo (ankle) are both doubtful, while Pau Torres (hamstring), Leon Goretzka (knee), Ian Maatsen (ankle) and Amadou Onana (knee) are all out for the longer-term.
Both of these sides have small causes for optimism, but improvement might not come until after the international break
It may feel a little like two bald men fighting over a comb, but both Spurs and Aston Villa have tiny causes for optimism ahead of this match. Spurs have kept two consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since New Year’s Day, and their performance against Liverpool wasn’t as bad as the eventual 3-1 scoreline suggested.
Villa, meanwhile, got some goals on the board at Coventry in the week, while a potential full debut for Johan Manzambi would also be a cause for celebration. They finally scored a first Premier League goal of the season last weekend, even though they ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 reversal against Nottingham Forest.
Both of these clubs underwent huge changes over the course of the summer, and neither have yet settled in 2026/27. A win for either would go a long way towards settling early season nerves following a tumultuous summer, but while there are causes for optimism, the actual evidence of substantial improvement is pretty light, and the excuse of a busy transfer window is already starting to wear thin.
With a lunchtime kick-off coming on top of the two teams’ issues in front of goal in the league, it may well be that the improvement that fans expect will have to wait until after the international break. On the basis of what we’ve seen from them in the league so far this season, I can’t really predict anything other than a goalless draw for this match, and for those early-season nerves to continue through the upcoming international break.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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