The result of Saturday's Premier League clash between Tottenham and Aston Villa will have a major say on how the race for Europe pans out come the final day. As things stand, Spurs head into the game at Villa Park in sixth and they crucially have a three-point cushion over Villa in eighth.
A positive result for Tottenham and they will really fancy their chances of securing a top-seven berth and a European place ahead of their rivals. If the result goes the other way, however, it will be all to play for in the final two matches of the campaign.
Victorious on their previous visit to Villa Park last April with a 4-0 triumph courtesy of Son Heung-min's hat-trick and Dejan Kulusevski's strike, it will be a different match altogether this time around with the hosts really catching the eye under Unai Emery. In the bottom half of the Premier League table not so long ago, the Spaniard has worked his magic in the West Midlands and left supporters dreaming of European football in 2023/24.
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Whereas Villa come into Saturday's match off the back of two successive defeats, Tottenham claimed three points last weekend following a slender win over Crystal Palace. Far from pretty at times, Ryan Mason showed how impressive he is tactically with Spurs playing 4-4-2 out of possession and then 3-4-3 when on the ball.
One player who played a key role in the game was Pedro Porro. Following plenty of talk about his defensive play in the previous games, the January signing played in a more advanced role and it brought the best out of him.
Helped by having Emerson Royal behind him, the player looked to attack at every opportunity and managed to get an assist to his name after putting in a wonderful cross that Harry Kane nodded home. Across his 40 appearances this term for Sporting CP and Tottenham, the 23-year-old has five goals and 13 assists to his name.
A big threat on the right for Tottenham due to his quality in the final third, it could be quite the battle down the wing, with Aston Villa's Alex Moreno also catching the eye following his switch from Real Betis. Emery is well aware of the danger Porro poses his team and he is intent on stopping him come 3pm on Saturday.
"Yes of course, [Porro] is playing very well," said the Aston Villa boss in his pre-match press conference, as reported by BirminghamLive. "He’s a strong player offensively and defensively. He’ll face Moreno and [Lucas] Digne and I want to stop him and take the challenge with the duels."
As well as speaking about Porro, Emery was also quizzed on Tottenham. Discussing the tactics they used against Crystal Palace, the former Arsenal boss admitted that Mason has some "very powerful players in the transition" and "very good players who can make different tactical decisions."
"Their expectation in the beginning was to be in the top four. It’s now more difficult than it was five to ten years ago. There are now seven teams trying to be in the top four. Maybe Aston Villa now as well. It’s more difficult," he said.
"Tottenham have had some problems in the last month but they have very good players. The last match they played against Palace they kept good balance tactically and they have very powerful players in the transition, being strong defensively. They have very good players who can make different tactical decisions.
"The last matches against them at home here [Villa] have struggled. It’s now a challenge to get a good performance at home. We have to believe in our players, in our tactical way we are progressing.
"That is the match on Saturday. To play a great match, spirit, and playing and trying to get at them. They have a three-goal difference with us but our mind is to be very competitive on Saturday and to get better."
Securing a win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year's Day courtesy of second-half goals from Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz, Spurs need to make sure that Villa don't record a double over them this campaign. If so, the final two games of the Premier League season could be very interesting indeed as the battle for Europe really heats up.
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