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Aston Villa fans had been waiting for Morgan Rogers to take his England form back to his club this season and he did so in spectacular fashion on Sunday.
Fresh from opening his account for England, Rogers netted his first Villa goal of the campaign and it was worth waiting for. It also helped Unai Emery’s team to an excellent victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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He may have been slightly fortunate that the ball bounced kindly for him 20 yards from goal, but Rogers certainly made the most of it. With barely any backlift, he struck a shot so sweetly that it swerved and dipped past Guglielmo Vicario, the despairing goalkeeper.
Villa’s official social media account could not help taking a playful swipe at Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who has recently trademarked his “cold” celebration. Rogers has always maintained that Palmer stole the celebration from him and Villa posted a message on X that read “trademark” following Rogers’s 37th-minute strike that pulled the visitors level after Rodrigo Bentancur’s early opener.
At the moment, it is Rogers who is nailed on for a place on the England plane to the World Cup next summer as Palmer recovers from a groin injury that has disrupted his start to the season.
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Villa’s winning goal, from substitute Emi Buendía, was equal in quality, but it is Rogers’s strike that feels particularly significant for head coach Emery.
If Villa are to achieve any of their targets this campaign, then they will need Rogers in top form and this goal suggests he is moving in the right direction again.
The “for sale” sign may have been up outside Villa Park for much of the summer with the club under pressure from financial rules. But Rogers was deemed untouchable.
He is the jewel in the crown, the man who can produce a moment of magic. He will surely leave at some stage and earn the club a fortune in the process, but, for this season at least, he is Villa’s main man.
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Rogers had chalked up his first assist of the season in Villa’s victory over Burnley before the international break and Emery is being rewarded for sticking with last season’s PFA Young Player of the Year.
The 23-year-old’s club form had been so bad over the opening weeks that it had almost looked cruel to keep playing him, culminating in some Villa fans jeering him in a Europa League success against Bologna.
But Emery kept the faith and the Spaniard said: “Some days he can play brilliantly and some days not so, but he always works, always doing his task.
Unai Emery was rewarded for keeping faith in Rogers after a poor start to the season – Reuters/David Klein
“He is a hard worker and the individual performance had been coming. He helps the team and he has the capacity. Always working, working, working.”
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The victory against Spurs meant that Villa have now won five successive games in all competitions, three of which have come in the league, and Rogers looks ready to start enjoying himself again.
Buendía is also a man reborn, having netted his third goal in four games. The Argentine appeared to be heading out of Villa Park during the summer, having spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and missed the previous campaign after suffering an anterior ligament injury.
Signed with part of the Jack Grealish money back in 2021, Buendía looked to be part of the pre-Emery era, but he is proving a handy weapon in the absence of Marcus Rashford and Marco Assensio, who Villa were unable to sign permanently. Buendía is already only one goal short of the four Rashford scored on loan at the club during the second half of last season.
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“How he struggled is down to the injury,” Emery said. “He needed time to recover and started this season differently from last year, performing very well and getting minutes. His skill is clear. He has skills to make the difference. I’m so happy with him.”
Leeds United, Stuttgart and Villa’s Midlands rivals Birmingham City all showed an interest in Buendía, but only offered loan deals and Emery will be delighted that the former Norwich City midfielder wanted to stay and fight for his place.
Buendía said: “From the start of the season I wanted to show everyone that I wanted to play for this team and for this club, and I am glad I do it every game.”
His brilliantly taken goal, in the 78th minute, came after a move that involved Matty Cash picking out Lucas Digne, who controlled the ball superbly before laying it off to Buendía.
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“I was preparing myself to run back for the counter-attack,” he said. “But I could help the team with the goal. It is really important for the confidence and to be helping the team.”
Villa and Spurs supporters criticise police over Israeli fan ban
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The police have been accused of making a “rod for their own backs” by banning Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from the upcoming Europa League tie at Aston Villa.
Fans of the Israeli club were told last week they would be blocked from attending the November 6 match at Villa Park, following a recommendation from West Midlands Police to the city council that there were safety concerns, a decision which has been widely criticised.
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Villa supporters are also perplexed by the decision, with one describing it as a “nightmare”.
Speaking ahead of his team’s Premier League match against Tottenham, Rob told Telegraph Sport: “They’ve made a right rod for their own backs, the cops. If it goes ahead now, there’ll be loads turning up looking for trouble, the Tommy Robinson lot, pro-Palestine types, the lot. Whereas if they’d just let it happen as it was meant to, no one would have even noticed it was happening.”
Rich, who had driven to London from Birmingham, agreed. “It’s a bit of a nightmare. Just don’t understand why. When we play Birmingham [City] the cops cope. And I don’t know a single Villa fan who has an opinion about them [Maccabi]. They weren’t in any danger from us. And did we need protecting from them? I doubt it. So what are the cops on about? I just hope they see sense and let them come.”
Among the Tottenham supporters, there was a similar sense of bewilderment.
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“It’s disappointing,” said Michael, who has been coming to Spurs matches for 43 years, of the decision. “They say it’s about security, but when we play Arsenal, they’re not banning us. I know they do occasionally in the Old Firm. I think they’ve only just let Rangers and Celtic fans follow their team to the other lot. But that’s historical, isn’t it? This isn’t. I don’t like to see fans stopped from supporting their team. Maybe they’ll come to some sort of compromise. You know, let 500 or so of them come.”
Stuart, a fellow Spurs fan, added: “It’s not about football, is it? It’s all about politics. I reckon the ban was political in the first place. Now everyone’s weighing in. I think they should just let them get on with it. It’s the police’s job to make sure everyone’s all right.”
04:30pm
Micky van de Ven talking to Sky Sports
04:19pm
Emi Buendia and Matty Cash speaking to Sky Sports
04:18pm
Meanwhile at Anfield
The second game in the Premier League today takes place on Merseyside as defending Premier League champions Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield. You can follow all the build-up and action from that match right here, with the game kicking off at 4.30pm.
04:15pm
Post-match thoughts of Matty Cash
“It is a massive win. This is a really tough place to come. We have won here before so we know what it takes. We were resilient all over the pitch and then Emi [Buendia] comes on and scores the winner, so thanks mate.”
On his pass to Emi Buendia for the winning goal:
“It was a nice pass, it was a nice contact and a great win. We had a tough start to the season, everyone knows that. But all you can do is work hard and stick to what we have done over the past few years. We have picked up some great results, a really good win and hopefully we can keep up the momentum.”
04:14pm
Comeback victory for the visitors
04:12pm
Stat
04:09pm
Aston Villa’s next five games
October 23: Go Ahead Eagles v Aston Villa (Europa League)
October 26: Aston Villa v Manchester City (Premier League)
November 1: Liverpool v Aston Villa (Premier League)
November 6: Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv (Europa League)
November 9: Aston Villa v Bournemouth (Premier League)
04:06pm
Tottenham’s next five games
October 22: Monaco v Tottenham (Champions League)
October 26: Everton v Tottenham (Premier League)
October 29: Newcastle v Tottenham (League Cup)
November 1: Tottenham v Chelsea (Premier League)
November 4: Tottenham v Copenhagen (Champions League)
04:02pm
FT stats
Possession: Tottenham 53%-47% Aston Villa
Shots: 9-8
Shots on target: 3-2
Corners: 6-6
Touches in opposition box: 27-8
03:59pm
Full time
There is the final whistle and Aston Villa have come from a goal down to win at Tottenham thanks to two great goals from Rogers and Buendia.
03:59pm
90+7 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
The ball is launched forward by Vicario but Sarr is offside. That could be Tottenham’s final chance with just seconds remaining.
03:58pm
90+6 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Into the final added minute we go.
03:57pm
90+5 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Kudus’ cross from the right is only headed away by Cash into the path of Johnson, who takes one touch and shoots from ten yards out but blazes his effort high over the bar.
03:56pm
90+4 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Time is ticking away for Tottenham to find an equaliser but Aston Villa are edging closer to a comeback victory.
03:55pm
90+2 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Tottenham win themselves a corner as Maatsen is forced to put it behind whilst tracking back defending Kudus, who takes the corner. It goes beyond the far post and picks out Palhinha, who has a free header back across goal. The ball eventually ends up at the feet of Kolo Muani just eight yards out but it is more of an air shot than anything. A huge waste by Kolo Muani.
03:52pm
90 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Important block from van de Ven. Maatsen finds Watkins in the right channel and Watkins faces up to van de Ven. Watkins has McGinn making an overlapping run but the former opts for a shot, which is blocked by van de Ven. McGinn is not too pleased with his teammate that he did not pass it.
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Seven added minutes so still plenty of time remaining in this one.
03:50pm
88 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Watkins exchanges a one-two with Buendia down the left and clips a cross from the left side of the box, looking for McGinn, but Johnson is back to head away.
03:48pm
85 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Thomas Frank is going to deploy his final two substitutions as they seek an equaliser. Johnson and Sarr replace Spence and Bentancur.
Kudus has been handed a sheet of paper that he then gives to Johnson, who then hands it to Kolo Muani. A relay with the piece of paper, which Kolo Muani then scrunches up but has nowhere to put it!
03:44pm
82 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Unai Emery is going to make a double change of his own as Barkley and Maatsen replace Onana and Digne.
03:41pm
79 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2
Thomas Frank had been eyeing up a double substitution before that goal went in and he is now finally able to make it. Kolo Muani and Bergvall are on.
03:39pm
GOAL! Sublime Buendia effort puts Aston Villa ahead
From 1-0 down, Unai Emery’s men now lead with just over 10 minutes of normal time left. Digne brings a long ball forward by Cash down sublimely and lays it back to Buendia, who cuts inside along the face of the box. He opens up his body and curls one towards the far corner and finds the bottom corner. He used the Tottenham defenders well to curl it around and leave Vicario unsighted for as long as possible.
03:37pm
75 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Thomas Frank will not be overly happy with Kudus’ end product today as he has got himself into promising positions a number of times today but his crosses have not found teammates enough for Frank’s liking and the decision-making at times has been iffy.
Mohammed Kudus could have punished Aston Villa more today – Julian Finney/Getty Images
03:30pm
69 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
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One of the tactical innovations Thomas Franks has brought to Tottenham from Brentford is becoming increasingly obvious as this game progresses. Apparently he held auditions soon after he arrived to see who of his players could deliver the longest throw. Kevin Danso won. And, with Cristian Romero injured in the warm up, the Austrian is getting plenty of opportunity to prove his skill. In a game as tight as this, a Danso long un may well turn out to be the key that unlocks Villa’s defence.
Tottenham causing problems with long throws – Julian Finney/Getty Images
03:28pm
66 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Another Danso long throw causes some chaos in the Aston Villa penalty area. Martinez tries to come out of his goal and punch it but completely misses it and is fortunate Onana is on hand to head away. Martinez claimed he was fouled by van de Ven but referee Simon Hooper did not agree.
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Danso is then booked for a late challenge on Digne. This two have been involved in a few collisions in this second half.
03:25pm
63 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Digne has so much time out on the left to pick out his spot with a cross but he is unable to find a teammate and Spence heads away. Considering the ample time he had to weigh it up, Digne’s cross should have been better.
03:23pm
61 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Both managers in fact are changing their front men as Watkins is on for Aston Villa in place of Malen. Unai Emery also brings on Buendia for Guessand.
03:21pm
59 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
The first change of the game is made by Thomas Frank as he brings on Richarlison for Tel up top for Tottenham.
03:19pm
57 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Chance for Aston Villa and their travelling fans thought the ball had ended up in the net. McGinn feeds the ball forward into the left side of the box and Malen gets on the end of it. Van de Ven slides across in an attempt to block the shot but Malen gets his shot off. His effort though hits the side netting, not into the net like the Aston Villa fans thought.
03:17pm
55 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Chance for Tottenham. Palhinha takes one touch just outside the box and then tries to curl one in at the near post. He is denied by Martinez but the shot did look to be going wide.
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The corner is taken short and is whipped into the path of Bentancur, whose header is saved by Martinez, but it would not have counted anyway as Bentancur had strayed offside as the cross was sent in.
03:15pm
53 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Appeals for a penalty now in the Aston Villa box. The visitors make a mess of clearing a long throw by Danso and Cash’s attempted clearance comes to Odobert about eight yards out. He shoots and his effort is blocked by Konsa. It seemed to strike Konsa on the arm but his arms were tucked into his body so it would have been harsh to give a penalty for that.
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It looks like Thomas Frank has taken inspiration from Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’ as Tottenham have towels ready to give Kevin Danso to launch long throws. The Villa players are having to use their damp shirts.
03:13pm
51 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Digne has been down for a while and is still complaining about the challenge from Danso. It was an unfortunate incident but that was not a penalty. After exchanging words with some of the Tottenham players, he is back to his feet.
03:11pm
49 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Digne is down inside the Tottenham penalty area and is wanting a penalty after a collision with Danso, who cleared the ball before making contact with Digne. VAR does take a look at the incident but no penalthy is forthcoming as Danso got full contact on the ball first.
03:07pm
Second half
We are back under way in north London. No changes for either side at the break.
03:02pm
Jamie Redknapp on Morgan Rogers’ goal
“[Morgan] Rogers has taken a little bit of stick this season but he hits this so well. He gets a bit of luck, the ball bounces back to him, then he gets it onto his right foot and hits it so early. I do not think you can stop that. It is a fantastic strike.”
02:55pm
HT stats
Possession: Tottenham 56%-44% Aston Villa
Shots: 3-3
Shots on target: 2-1
Corners: 4-2
Touches in opposition box: 15-3
02:50pm
Half-time
That is it for the first half and we are level at 1-1 at the break. Bentancur gave Tottenham the lead early in the first half but Rogers’ stunning strike means Aston Villa are level at half-time.
02:48pm
45+3 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Porro appeals for a penalty as his compatriot Torres blocks a cross from the right but those appeals are waved away and VAR quickly checks and clears it as the ball hit Torres’ backside.
02:46pm
45+1 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Odobert cuts onto his right out on the left and picks out van de Ven in the centre of the box around 12 yards out but the Dutchman’s header is off target.
02:45pm
45 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
There will be five added minutes at the end of this first half. Not sure where five minutes has come from.
02:43pm
42 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
What was referee Simon Hooper doing there? Porro tries to play the free-kick to the right and it hits the referee but for some reason, against the laws of the game he allows play to go on. Kudus then fizzes a ball across the box which Tel, at the back post, cannot divert towards goal. Why on earth was played not stopped immediately as soon as it hit the referee? The Aston Villa players are furious and understandably so.
02:40pm
40 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 1
Tempers are just starting to boil over as Simons is not happy with McGinn whilst Rogers is down after a naught challenge from Palhinha that went unpunished.
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Rogers went down immediately and called for some help from the bench but he is now back on his feet.
The upshot is that Tottenham have a free-kick in a central position from around 30 yards out.
02:37pm
GOAL! Rogers screamer brings Aston Villa level
What a stunning goal to bring the visitors level! His initial pass forward near the edge of the Tottenham box is blocked but it comes straight back to him. He then delivers a couple of cute touches before a bit of space opens up for him to shoot and boy does he take it, firing it into the top left corner.
02:34pm
35 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Digne flashes the ball across goal from the left, forcing Vicario to dive and punch the ball away from danger.
02:34pm
34 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
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We are in a centre-forward free zone at Tottenham Stadium today. Spurs have two wide men – Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel leading their line, while Villa have Donyell Malen occasionally assisted by Morgan Rogers. With both sides lacking a big man to flick the ball on, this season’s exciting new tactical development of the long hoof forward by the goalkeeper will not be very productive today.
02:33pm
32 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Tel should do better there. Tottenham win possession in the centre of the park after a meaty challenge from Palhinha on Onana and the hosts are on the counter. They have numbers driving forward and Tel takes it to the edge of the box before trying to cut inside and shoot but the ball is taken away from him by Kamara.
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Play is then halted as Onana is still down after the meaty but fair challenge from Palhinha but he is now back on his feet.
02:28pm
28 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Chances at both ends. Malen looks like he is played in behind the Tottenham defence but Danso defends well to shield it back to his keeper Vicario.
Then Tottenham attack and the ball is shifted out to the left wing to Odobert, who cuts inside and gets his shot away. Martinez spills the effort initially but is able to gather at the second attempt.
02:26pm
25 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Porro wins a corner off Torres, which Kudus will take out on the right. It goes all the way beyond the back post and Martinez looks like he may have been able to catch but instead leaves it. Rogers probably should just deal with the danger but tries to shield it away from Odobert, who is the one to get on the end of the cross but he is unable to divert his effort towards goal.
02:22pm
22 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
The first booking of the game goes the way of Tottenham’s stand-in captain for the day van de Ven for a challenge on Rogers, who had flicked the ball through van de Ven’s legs and was then chopped down.
Micky van de Ven into the book – David Klein/Reuters
02:21pm
21 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Kudus wins a corner for the hosts out on the right and takes it himself but it is too floaty and an easy catch for Martinez.
02:17pm
18 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
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Both sets of fans are having some Europe banter. The Spurs supporters start with ‘champions of Europe, we know what we are’ in relation to last season’s Europa League win. But the Villa fans respond with ‘Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that’ in relation to their club’s European Cup success in 1982.
02:16pm
16 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Bentancur, the scorer of Tottenham’s goal, is dropping in between his two centre-backs when the home side are in possession. A reminder that Danso was a late addition to the Tottenham starting XI at centre-back with Romero pulling out during the warm-ups.
02:15pm
14 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Cash has some space to shoot from 20 yards out but he drags his effort wide of Vicario’s right post.
02:12pm
11 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Aston Villa are gifted a corner as Bentancur’s pass back towards van de Ven is off target and rolls behind for a corner.
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McGinn’s delivery is headed out to the edge of the box and Cash hits it first time. It takes a deflection and goes behind, with both sides appealing, and another corner is given.
McGinn overhits this corner and it goes beyond the far post and behind for a goal-kick.
02:08pm
7 mins: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 0
Kudus thinks he has made it 2-0 to Tottenham but his celebrations are cut short by the offside flag being raised. The ball is played long in behind the Aston Villa defence and Kudus gets the better of Digne before beating Martinez. However he had made his run too early and was clearly offside. It looked like he knew it even as he wheeled away in celebration.
02:05pm
GOAL! Bentancur puts Tottenham ahead
The hosts have an early lead. Tottenham keep it alive and Kudus sends in a cross from the left beyond the back post into Palhinha. The Portuguese midfielder heads it back across goal into the path of Bentancur, who hits it first time and his shot takes a deflection off Onana and goes into the net.
02:05pm
4 mins: Tottenham 0 Aston Villa 0
The first corner of the game goes the way of Tottenham, with Tel being rewarded for good work out of possession to take it off Konsa and then winning the corner off Cash.
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The man who wins the corner takes it but Guessand heads away at the near post.
02:02pm
2 mins: Tottenham 0 Aston Villa 0
It is van de Ven who is wearing the captain’s armband for Tottenham now with Romero pulling out during the warm-up.
02:00pm
Kick-off
We are under way in north London.
Tottenham’s captain Romero is sat in the dugout having had to pull out during the warm-ups.
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There was some very muted booing as the Tottenham and Villa players took the knee before kick-off. This is the Premier League’s ‘say no to racism’ weekend. Every player except Onana took the knee.
01:59pm
Cash relieved to see no Romero?
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Aston Villa right-back Matt Cash might be pleased to have found out that Cristian Romero has pulled out of the Tottenham team. Cash made himself public enemy number one with Romero a few years ago after injuring Rodrigo Bentancur. But the Argentine will not be able to exact any revenge on behalf of Bentancur today.
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Villa’s bench looks like a care home for Premier League cast-offs. Seeking sanctuary there today are Victor Lindelof, Ross Barkley and Jadon Sancho.
01:57pm
Reminder of the teams
The hosts have been forced into a late change during the warm-ups which saw captain Cristian Romero pull out so Kevin Danso is into their starting XI.
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Tottenham: Vicario, Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Porro, Bentancur, Palhinha, Odobert, Simons, Kudus, Tel.
Substitutes: Kinsky, Gray, Matar Sarr, Byfield, Bergvall, Johnson, Kolo Muani, Richarlison.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Digne, Torres, Konsa, Cash, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers, Guessand, Malen.
Substitutes: Bizot, Lindelof, Maatsen, Barkley, Bogarde, Buendia, Elliott, Sancho, Watkins.
01:56pm
Nearly ready for action
Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are just moments away from kick-off at a very wet Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
01:54pm
Pre-match thoughts of Unai Emery
01:53pm
Jamie Redknapp on Morgan Rogers
01:48pm
Late change for the hosts
01:47pm
Roy Keane on Mohammed Kudus
01:41pm
Pre-match thoughts of Thomas Frank
01:34pm
Visitors out to warm up
01:30pm
Mathys Tel interview: Not making Champions League squad made me mad, but I understand why
Growing up in the northern Paris suburb of Sarcelles did not make for an easy childhood for Mathys Tel, but it did equip the Tottenham Hotspur forward with the resilience to keep fighting back.
That refusal to be beaten has been crucial to Tel over the opening months of the season, during which he has been the victim of racist abuse after missing a penalty in the Uefa Super Cup and found himself left out of the club’s Champions League squad.
Both setbacks were at the forefront of his mind, when Tel visited Lea Valley primary school in the shadow of Tottenham’s stadium to talk to pupils about the importance of tackling discrimination and remaining positive.
01:24pm
Recent meetings
May 2025: Aston Villa 2 Tottenham 0 (Premier League)
February 2025: Aston Villa 2 Tottenham 1 (FA Cup)
November 2024: Tottenham 4 Aston Villa 1 (Premier League)
March 2024: Aston Villa 0 Tottenham 4 (Premier League)
November 2023: Tottenham 1 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League)
01:18pm
Visitors arriving
01:12pm
Aston Villa’s last five results (all competitions)
Aston Villa 2 Burnley 1 (Premier League)
Feyenoord 0 Aston Villa 2 (Europa League)
Aston Villa 3 Fulham 1 (Premier League)
Aston Villa 1 Bologna 0 (Europa League)
Sunderland 1 Aston Villa 1 (Premier League)
01:08pm
Tottenham’s last five results (all competitions)
Leeds 1 Tottenham 2 (Premier League)
Bodo/Glimt 2 Tottenham 2 (Champions League)
Tottenham 1 Wolves 1 (Premier League)
Tottenham 3 Doncaster 0 (League Cup)
Brighton 2 Tottenham 2 (Premier League)
01:03pm
Teams in full
Tottenham: Vicario, Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Porro, Bentancur, Palhinha, Odobert, Simons, Kudus, Tel.
Substitutes: Kinsky, Gray, Danso, Matar Sarr, Byfield, Bergvall, Johnson, Kolo Muani, Richarlison.
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Aston Villa: Martinez, Digne, Torres, Konsa, Cash, Onana, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers, Guessand, Malen.
Substitutes: Bizot, Lindelof, Maatsen, Barkley, Bogarde, Buendia, Elliott, Sancho, Watkins.
12:56pm
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12:52pm
Hosts arriving
12:46pm
Tottenham team
12:45pm
Aston Villa team
12:43pm
Team news incoming
We are just moments away from finding out the two starting XIs…
12:42pm
This weekend’s Premier League fixtures
Saturday:
Nottingham Forest 0 Chelsea 3
Brighton 2 Newcastle 1
Burnley 2 Leeds 0
Crystal Palace 3 Bournemouth 3
Manchester City 2 Everton 0
Sunderland 2 Wolves 0
Fulham 0 Arsenal 1
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Sunday:
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Liverpool vs Manchester United
Monday:
West Ham vs Brentford
12:38pm
Match preview
The Premier League weekend continues in north London as Tottenham host Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham won 2-1 away at Leeds before the international break and today’s game marks the start of seven games for Thomas Frank’s men in the next 22 days. Frank has spoken of his excitement ahead of this run of matches.
“We love to play games. Every footballer loves to play a game instead of training. Coaches, we like to train a little bit more sometimes, but in general, we love to play the games. We have a fantastic run of games ahead of us, starting with Aston Villa on Sunday; a top team, top manager, Unai [Emery], I respect him a lot. I think what he has done in his career is amazing. What he created at Villa is fantastic in so many areas. I think they did well in the Champions League last season and almost qualified for the Champions League again, which is very impressive and I think they have a very strong team.”
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Randal Kolo Muani is set to return for the hosts having missed the last five games. Dominic Solanke is closing in on a return from an ankle injury but Yves Bissouma is out with an ankle injury picked up on international duty with Mali.
Aston Villa are 13th after seven games but they do go into this match off the back of four straight wins in all competitions before the international break. Speaking ahead of the game, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is anticipating a “huge challenge”.
“(It is the) Premier League. Every match we are facing is very difficult. Tottenham is one of the contender teams to be in the top seven. Last year, they did not achieve it, but this year they are very fantastic, getting good results. They are now near the top, with 14 points, and playing at home, they are feeling strong. For us, it is a huge challenge how we can face them, showing our capacity, how we are, playing against them as a team and how we are responding. This is my challenge. Our challenge is how we can face them showing our capacity and testing as well.”
Despite missing England’s second game during the international break, striker Ollie Watkins is expected to feature. Tyrone Mings could also feature whilst both Emi Buendia and Jadon Sancho will be available.
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In this fixture last season, Tottenham ran out comfortable 4-1 winners but Aston Villa did get their revenge later in the season, winning both in the league and the FA Cup at home. None of the last 20 Premier League meetings between the sides have ended in a draw. Team news to follow shortly.
