Tottenham vs Aston Villa - Premier League: TV channel, team news, lineups & prediction
Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa contest the first Premier League game of 2023 on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs made a sluggish return to top-flight football - picking up from right where they left off. For the sixth Premier League match in a row, Antonio Conte's side fell behind and conceded two goals. Tottenham rallied to earn a point against Brentford but the problems that existed in November survived the World Cup hiatus.
Unai Emery wasn't able to translate his concentrated training period over the break into an immediate batch of points. However, Villa created a number of openings even in defeat to Liverpool.
Here's everything you need to know about the start of the new year of Premier League football.
Where are Tottenham vs Aston Villa playing?
- Location: London, England
- Stadium: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Date: Sunday 1 January
- Kick-off Time: 14:00 GMT / 09:00 ET / 06:00 PT
- VAR: Jarred Gillett
- Referee: John Brooks
Tottenham vs Aston Villa H2H Results (Last Five Games)
- Tottenham: 4 Wins
- Aston Villa: 1 Win
- Draws: 1
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Tottenham: WLLWD
- Aston Villa: LWLWL
How to watch Tottenham vs Aston Villa on TV and live stream
United Kingdom
- Sky Sports Main Event (UK)
- Sky Sports Premier League (UK)
- Sky Sports Ultra HD (UK)
United States
- Peacock Premium (United States)
Canada
- fuboTV (Canada)
Tottenham team news
Conte may be able to welcome back some of his World Cup stars this weekend. Rodrigo Bentancur returned to training before Christmas and is set to have fully recovered from a muscle injury he sustained during Uruguay's group-stage exit.
Cristian Romero may also re-emerge after being granted an extended rest period to recover from the revelry which accompanied Argentina's World Cup triumph.
Richarlison isn't expected back until the second half of January and his compatriot Lucas Moura has been struggling with various niggling concerns throughout the campaign. Djed Spence is a doubt with a fever as well.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Aston Villa
Tottenham Starting 11 (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
Bench: Forster, Sanchez, Lenglet, Emerson, Skipp, Bissouma, Sarr, Sessegnon, Tanganga.
Aston Villa team news
Emery may be able to welcome back his own World Cup winner as Emi Martinez is scheduled to return to club duty this weekend. Diego Carlos is still in the midst of a long-term recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon while Jacob Ramsey has at least another week on the sidelines to let his thigh injury fully heal.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Tottenham
Aston Villa Starting 11 (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Luiz, Kamara, Buendia; Bailey, Watkins.
Bench: Olsen, Marschall, Bednarek, Chambers, Young, Dendoncker, Coutinho, Archer, Ings.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa score prediction
Spurs may be the escape artists of the English top flight but Villa haven't made a habit of taking the lead - let alone giving it up - this season. No Premier League club has gone ahead less often than the Villans, securing an advantage just six times all term.
Emery lamented his side's inability to control Liverpool's transitions on Boxing Day - which has been a well-worn route to goal for Spurs this season; Conte's side has launched a league-high 36 direct attacks (per Opta).
Villa have won just one league match on the road all season - though that was the club's only away posting since Emery took over against Brighton in November. As the hosts, Spurs go into the fixture as favourites but there is no guarantee that all three points will remain in north London.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa