Key events
38 min: In these rainy conditions, it was a slip from Simons that allowed Rogers to create some space. But the England international expertly took his chance – I would not be surprised to see that on the Goal of the Month shortlist.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa (Rogers 37)
As if baited by my previous post, Rogers lets fly from 25 yards, and finds the top corner! It was a scrappy passage of play, but Rogers found a pocket on the edge of Spurs’ area and pings an unstoppable shot past Vicario, dipping over the Italian goalkeeper and just underneath the crossbar. Rogers’ first goal in 20 games for Villa!
34 min: We are over a third of the way through this match, and Villa are yet to trouble Vicario in the Spurs goal.
32 min: Onana is OK, after some attention from the Villa physios.
31 min: Onana is left crumpled on the turf after another robust tackle from Paulinha in midfield. This is the Belgian’s first Villa starts since August. He won’t want another spell on the sidelines.
29 min: I have mentioned Spurs’ physicality and Malen is really struggling to make his mark against the Tottenham centre-back duo of Danso and Van de Ven. Ollie Watkins, huddled under a puffer jacket on the Villa bench, will be eager to get some minutes later.
27 min: A raking diagonal pass from Bencancur finds Odobert in plenty of space on the left, and the winger drives inside on his right foot, lashing a bouncing awkward shot at goal, which Villa’s Martínez gathers at the second attempt. That was strong, direct play from the home side.
25 min: Villa are normally a good pressing side, but look very pedestrian in defence today. Spurs are able to advance with the ball up the pitch quite easily, as Porro wins another corner for the home side. The delivery from Kudus is deep towards Odobert at the back post, and even though the Frenchman beats Rogers to the ball, he is unable to control it.
23 min: Odobert goes down in a heap on the edge of Villa’s box, claiming a foul. There is contact from Onana, but nowhere near enough to send somebody tumbling over, and the referee waves play on. Good decision.
21 min: Yellow card for Van de Ven, who catches Rogers in midfield shortly after being nutmegged. No complaints.
18 min: Villa are playing a very high line, which is a dangerous thing against the pace of Odobert, Tel and Kudus. Tel is constantly threatening to get in behind, but hasn’t quiet timed his run correctly. Yet.
15 min: Tottenham give the ball away cheaply just outside their own box, and Cash finds a pocket of space, shooting just wide from 20 yards out. That should be a bit of a wake-up call for Spurs.
14 min: Perhaps this is not a surprising development, given Thomas Frank is the manager, but I’m impressed by how physical Spurs are. The arrival of Paulinha has massively bolstered Tottenham’s midfield, which also includes Bentancur, Sarr and Bergvall. They are all big lads, can run for days.
12 min: Villa begin to edge into the game with some possession, and force a couple of corners, well defended by Spurs. McGinn’s delivery for the latter was particularly poor.
FOUL THROW ALERT!
10 min: I repeat, FOUL THROW ALERT! Cash creeps up the touchline a little too much for the referee’s liking and Simon Hooper overturns the throw-in from Villa to Spurs! Lots of cheers go up with the home crowd. A rare treat, that.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Spurs denied a second!
7 min: Van de Ven pumps a ball long from the back, Tel and Kudus combine with the latter firing a shot through the hands of Martínez and into the net! The Villa keeper has his blushes spared by the offside flag, with both Tel and Kudus correctly ruled offside from Van de Ven’s initial ball.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Aston Villa (Bencancur 5)
Villa clear the initial corner, but Spurs recycle the ball and Kudus, from the left, swings a brilliant ball to Paulinha a the back post. The Portuguese nods the ball back across goal and Bencancur is there to sweep in an easy finish from the penalty spot!
4 min: Sloppy play from Onana allows Tel to win the ball back inside Villa’s penalty box, and the Frenchman wins a corner for Spurs.
3 min: A brief delay, with the earpiece of referee Simon Hooper coming loose.
2 min: Sky Sports had suggested that Guessand would be playing as part of a front-two with Malen, but the Ivory Coast international is looks like he is playing on the right, with Malen as a lone striker, supported by Rogers in the No 10 role.
Peeeeeeeeep!
We’re underway in London!
The teams are out! It’s raining on north London, so we’ll have a slick surface.
Some breaking news, before Manchester United’s trip to Anfield later.
Villa manager Unai Emery is asked by a Sky Sports reporter if the decision to leave Ollie Watkins on the bench was a tactical one or a fitness one.
I won’t respond to the question, it’s something private. But Watkins is getting better.
Cristian Romero injured in the warm up!
A big blow for Spurs, with their captain Cristian Romero injured in the warm-up. Kevin Danso will replace the Argentinian, and Micky van de Ven will take the armband.
Thomas Frank, Tottenham manager, is speaking to the cameras:
On Destiny Udogie being left out the squad today:
He came back from international duty with minor irritation in the knee.
Randal Kolo Muani making the bench:
He’s nowhere near ready to start. I’d like him to be ready of course.
On Mo Kudus:
He’s been exceptional since the first day of the season. He’s such a threat, one versus one. His work rate is very good. You need to get goals, and I’m so happy he got one.
On the stat that Frank has never beaten Unai Emery:
It’s about time to change it. Hopefully we do it today. Unai I respect massively. He has worked wonders with Villa. It’s going to be a super tight game. It will be a small goal that decides the game. I hope we can get that moment.
We wrote extensively on the police ban this week.
Aston Villa stadium must not be a no-go area for Jews, says Ed Miliband
Some breaking news, as the UK’s energy secretary has called for the lifting of a police ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters at the upcoming Europa League fixture.
Birmingham’s safety advisory group is meeting next week and is expected to produce proposals about the extra resources West Midlands police would need to allow the match to go ahead safely with away fans.
The force last week barred Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from the match because of concerns that officers would not be able to police it safely. They cited “violent clashes and hate crime offences” at a Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam in 2024.
Asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News whether Villa Park was a no-go area for Jews, Miliband replied: “No, and it can’t be, and I’m very, very clear about that.
“We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country, and we’ve got to stamp out all forms of prejudice, antisemitism, Islamophobia, wherever we find them.”
Asked about a petition calling for a boycott of Israeli teams in the UK, Miliband said: “I profoundly disagree with that approach, with what is being said in that petition.”
Let’s unpack those teams a little.
For Spurs, interesting that Odobert is the preferred option on the left wing. Tel gets the nods ahead of Richarlison, with Solanke still out with an injury. Randal Kolo Muani could make his Premier League debut following his loan move from PSG in the summer – the Frenchman has also been sidelined for the past six or seven weeks.
For Villa, Watkins is only fit enough for the bench, but Donyell Malen excelled against Burnley a couple of weeks ago, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win, and the Dutchman leads the line again today. Guessand also gets a start, but otherwise Villa are unchanged and as expected. A penny for the thoughts of Harvey Elliott, he can’t get a kick at the moment.
Team news!
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, Kudus, Simons, Odobert, Tel.
Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Richarlison, Gray, Bergvall, Johnson, Sarr, Muani, Byfield.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Kamara, Guessand, Rogers, McGinn, Malen.
Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Barkley, Elliott, Buendia, Watkins, Sancho, Maatsen, Bogarde.
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Preamble
Welcome everyone to the match that absolutely nobody knows as the Alan Hutton Derby!
For all the talk of a poor home record, Tottenham have had a fine start to the season. Yes, he had a full pre-season to bed in his ideas, but Thomas Frank should be given a lot of praise for improving this Spurs team from the get-go. By the end of today, Tottenham could well be second in the table (even if they are still trailing Arsenal).
After a disappointing start to the season, in which Villa failed to win any of their opening six matches (in which they scored just twice), Unai Emery’s side have now won their last four matches in all competitions, and looking much more like their old selves. Fluidity is still something of an issue and there are questions marks over the form and fitness of Ollie Watkins (although Emery did confirm he was fit to feature today), but the return of Tyrone Mings following a two-game absence is a bonus for the Birmingham side, who will be looking to avoid defeat here before the next two league matches against Manchester City (home) and Liverpool (away).
Here is where the teams start today in the Premier League table.
Kick-off: 2pm BST.
