Team news and stats ahead of Aston Villa vs Spurs in the Premier League on Sunday (kick-off 7.30pm).
Team news
Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish faces a fitness race ahead of the visit of Tottenham.
The skipper has been out for five weeks with a shin injury - forcing him to miss England's World Cup qualifiers this month - and boss Dean Smith will make a late call on Sunday morning with the midfielder yet to resume full training.
Wesley (knee) is back in training after over a year out while Kortney Hause continues to battle a foot problem.
- Premier League table | Premier League top scorers
- Premier League fixtures | Premier League results
- Live football on Sky Sports this week
Tottenham are likely to be without Heung-min Son.
The South Korean is nursing a hamstring injury and boss Jose Mourinho does not expect him to be fit until after the international window.
Mourinho is likely to make several changes to his side with a number of them, including Harry Kane, playing 120 minutes in their Europa League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
How to follow
Aston Villa vs Tottenham will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 7pm; kick-off 7.30pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Last time out...
Opta stats
- In all competitions, Aston Villa have lost 11 of their last 12 matches against Tottenham Hotspur, winning the other in April 2015 under Tim Sherwood.
- Since a 1-2 defeat at Villa Park on New Year's Day 2008, Spurs are unbeaten in nine away Premier League games against Aston Villa (W7 D2), winning the last five in a row; Spurs' only longer away winning run against an opponent in the top-flight was against the Villans between 1950 and 1956 (7).
- Aston Villa have only lost six consecutive home Premier League matches against an opponent on two previous occasions - versus Manchester United (2003-2007) and Liverpool (2011-2019).
- This is the latest first meeting between two sides in a Premier League campaign since 2005-06, when Birmingham and Bolton's first match against each other came on April 4th.
- Aston Villa averaged 2.1 goals-per-game in their first 13 Premier League games this season (27 goals in total), scoring at least three times on six occasions. Since then, the Villans have netted just 12 goals in 14 Premier League games and never more than twice in a match.
- Tottenham have lost nine of their 28 Premier League games so far this season - manager José Mourinho has never suffered as many as 10 defeats in a single league campaign in his career.
- Tottenham have lost four of their last five away league games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 20 on the road (W8 D8). Each of Spurs' last eight away league wins has come against placed 13th or lower in the table, last beating a side in the top half on the road back in December 2019 (2-1 vs Wolves).
PITCH TO POST PREVIEW: HOW WILL SPURS RESPOND TO THEIR EUROPA LEAGUE SHOCKER?
In this week's Pitch to Post Preview Podcast Sky Sports News' Elliot Cook and Keith Downie join Peter Smith to look ahead to a crucial clash in the battle against relegation, which sees Brighton host Newcastle on Saturday night. From analysis of what's gone wrong this season, to tactics for this clash, and what defeat would mean for both managers, we have the ultimate lowdown on this pivotal game.
We also have the latest on Arsenal, following their progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and ask Sky Sports football journalist Ron Walker whether West Ham can topple their London rivals.
Plus, Sky Sports football journalist Charlotte Marsh reacts to Tottenham's disastrous defeat to Dinamo Zagreb and discusses whether Jose Mourinho's side can salvage their season domestically, starting with a tricky trip to Aston Villa.