Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa - prediction, team news, lineups

By Ben Knapton | 17 Sep 2026 10:17, Last updated: 17 Sep 2026 10:30

Saturday's early Premier League kickoff pits crisis club against crisis club, as Tottenham Hotspur welcome Aston Villa to their capital home.

Neither side has a single top-flight win to shout about in 2026-27, but unlike their hapless hosts, the Lions at least managed to snap their Premier League goal drought in gameweek four.

Tottenham have now scored a goal against a Premier League team in the 2026-27 season, but Conor Gallagher's one-yard header against Liverpool on Tuesday night was totally inconsequential, as another shot at EFL Cup stardom passed Spurs by.

Roberto De Zerbi's men succumbed to strikes from Alexis Mac Allister, former transfer flame Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai in a 3-1 third-round reverse, extending their winless run in all tournaments to four games and prolonging their wait for success against a top-tier opponent.

Only Charlton Athletic have failed to glean a positive result against De Zerbi's charges in 2026-27, and the dreaded boos are already ringing out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Lilywhites laboured to a goalless draw with Everton last weekend - the first-ever scoreless top-flight clash at the venue.

One of just five teams without a win and one of two still waiting for their first goal - alongside relegation favourites Coventry City - Tottenham find themselves in an all-too familiar 17th place in the Premier League table, only one point above the dotted line.

The 2017-18 Crystal Palace crop were hitherto the only Premier League team to go scoreless in the first four rounds of a season, although Frank de Boer had already been sacked from his Eagles post by this point, and there are few serious concerns over De Zerbi's job security at this juncture.

The hosting coach is being cut some slack thanks to his players' inability to make the net bulge - a frustration he cannot be held completely responsible for - and Tottenham do enter gameweek five with a marginally superior record to their Champions League-competing rivals.

A chaotic European triumph at Club Brugge did not spark a turnaround in Premier League fortunes for Aston Villa, whose Villa Park showdown with Nottingham Forest saw them belatedly open their goals account for the season, but the three-points bank remains closed.

Liam Delap and Igor Jesus efforts either side of Alysson's maiden Premier League goal propelled the Tricky Trees to a 2-1 triumph and condemned Villa to their third loss from four league games in 2026-27, but parity was restored in midweek.

Where his teammates failed in the top flight, Tammy Abraham succeeded in the EFL Cup, scoring twice as the Lions progressed to the fourth round with a straightforward 3-1 victory at Coventry City.

From scoring just one goal in their first four games of the season to seven in their last three, Villa have found their shooting boots before facing one of their favourite opponents; Emery's side have won four of their last five encounters against Tottenham, although the one aberration was Spurs' critical 2-1 away triumph in May.

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

In typical Tottenham style, the Lilywhites suffered a fresh injury blow before their EFL Cup loss to Liverpool, which Sandro Tonali missed due to an unspecified knock.

Tonali remains a question mark for Saturday alongside Pedro Porro (muscle), while Dejan Kulusevski (knee/fitness), Xavi Simons (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (ankle) are long-term absentees.

Fit enough for back-to-back substitute appearances against Liverpool and Everton, James Maddison may now be deemed ready for a 45 or 60-minute run-out, but Mohammed Kudus should be spared after completing 75 minutes of the midweek defeat.

From a midfield blow to a midfield boost, Villa will welcome Joao Gomes back from his three-game suspension after the Brazilian's sending-off on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Neither Matty Cash (muscle) nor Brian Madjo (ankle) have been ruled out just yet either, but Pau Torres (hamstring), Leon Goretzka (knee), Ian Maatsen (ankle) and Amadou Onana (knee) remain out, while Marco Bizot suffered a back injury on Wednesday but was always going to make way for Zion Suzuki.

However, Abraham has done all he can to keep Nicolas Jackson at bay, while Johan Manzambi is on the verge of a full debut after back-to-back substitute appearances.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Kinsky; Gray, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Robertson; Fernandes, Bentancur; Savio, Maddison, Marmoush; Solanke

Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Mings, Ruggeri; Kamara, Barkley; Mbaye, McGinn, Hemmings; Abraham

With both personnel and confidence returning to the visitors' ranks, Emery's side are looking more like their old selves on the attacking front, and Tottenham could ostensibly take a lesson or two from their visitors on Saturday.

The Lilywhites are at least working with an additional day's rest and can make some alterations in attack too, so a third draw on the spin for De Zerbi's side is a realistic outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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