Spurs’ 2-2 draw at Brentford in their last match was the 6th game of their last 8 that had over 2.5 goals, only 2 of their matches this season have had less than 2 goals and none of these were goalless draws. Aston Villa continued their run of entertaining matches under Emery against Liverpool. Since Emery took charge, Villa matches have seen 16 goals in their 4 matches all of which with over 2.5 goals. Kane spoke about the need to stop conceding first in his interview after the Brentford match but at the moment it seems Spurs have to outscore their opposition if they are to win. Emery’s teams have been attacking and this Villa team seems to be no different, they will go for it against Spurs so expect plenty of goals in this match.

If there are to be goals in this game like expected, Harry Kane will have an impact on the result of this match. Kane is averaging 0.88 goal contributions per 90 with 13 goals and 1 assist so far this season. With Kulusevski and Son injury free at the moment, he will be looking to increase his assist tally as well as his goal tally and will fancy his chances against a leaky Aston Villa defence. Villa have struggled against opposition centre forwards, Salah played effectively as a centre forward against them and got a goal and an assist and Martial scored against them in the cup. With 3 goals in his last 4 matches, Kane should be able to score or assist in this match.

Ollie Watkins looks like a favourite of Emery so far, he has started in all 3 matches he has been available for. Watkins is Villa’s highest shot on target hitter this season averaging 1.28 shots on target per 90 but his recent numbers under Emery are very impressive. He had 3 shots on target against Liverpool and was by far their best player. Watkins play style fits well against Spurs, he runs into channels well and gets behind defences which will see him have plenty of chances in this game. If Emery goes with 2 up top with Watkins alongside Ings this will only help Watkins more giving him a player to play off up top. Spurs have been leaky defensively this season and will give away shots on target so Watkins is good value for a shot on target in this match.

Since Unai Emery’s introduction as Aston Villa manager, Aston Villa have actually allowed their opposition more passes. Over the course of the season, teams playing Aston Villa have averaged 434 passes however since Emery joined they have averaged 513 passes. Spurs at home average 511 passes a match so their passing numbers will likely be around their normal levels. Eric Dier has hit at least 70 passes in 5 of his last 7 matches at home and has averaged 71 passes per 90 this season. He averages 86 minutes played per match so he should play the full game and can hit the 70 pass mark.