Tottenham are aiming to avoid two domestic cup exits in the space of four days when they face Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday evening.
Expectations were relatively low for the Lilywhites as Ange Postecoglou took his battered and bruised squad to Anfield on Thursday night with a 1-0 lead to cling onto. They sought to retain their advantage via some sound penalty-box defending early on, but quickly collapsed after Cody Gakpo restored parity in the tie. They failed to lay a glove on Liverpool in an eventual 4-0 defeat; exiting the Carabao Cup with a whimper.
Given the role cup competitions have played in ensuring supporters just about stayed onside with the manager, Sunday is a huge game for Postecoglou.
Villa overcame Premier League opposition in the form of West Ham to advance into the fourth round, and they enjoyed a rare midweek of respite after losing at Wolves last weekend.
Unai Emery’s side have endured an indifferent domestic season but were one of the busiest operators in the January transfer window and are aiming to set up a productive end to the campaign.
Emery has several new toys at his disposal and it’ll be interesting to see how many he crams into Sunday’s starting XI. While he can no longer call upon Jhon Duran, he does have Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio as options to fill the void left by Ollie Watkins, who is out injured.
Donyell Malen is another January addition to consider.
Villa’s defensive absences – Emery is currently without Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres – have been hampered further by Axel Disasi ineligibility after appearing in the FA Cup for Chelsea earlier this season. Ross Barkley is also sidelined.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Kamara, Digne; Tielemans, Onana; Malen, Rogers, Rashford; Asensio.
Richarlison is poised for another spell on the sidelines after he picked up a calf injury at Anfield on Thursday night. Deadline Day arrival Mathys Tel replaced him on the night and the young Frenchman should make his first start for the club on Sunday with Dominic Solanke likely to be absent again.
While Postecoglou was hopeful that several of his currently injured stars would be available in the coming weeks, no injured stars are expected to be back for this fixture.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3): Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Davies, Spence; Gray, Bergvall, Kulusevski; Johnson, Tel, Moore.
