Unai Emery insists Tottenham are bigger contenders to finish in the Premier League’s top four than his Aston Villa side this season.
Villa visit north London on Sunday having made a bright start to the campaign and sit five points better off.
They have also topped Spurs in the table in the last two seasons, but the Spaniard says the budget of Tottenham means they are favourites for the match and to finish above them in the league.
“They are the favourites in front of us for the season and favourites for the match on Sunday,” he said.
“But we are competing and we are being confident in how we are doing our way.
“We are trying to be contenders with those teams like Tottenham, or Chelsea or Newcastle, to compete with them in the top seven, top six, it is a really great match.
“They are contenders more than us, we have some advantage on the table but after the match on Sunday it could be different. Hopefully we can compete and control the game.
“They are favourites with Chelsea, with Manchester United, with Newcastle. But we are there and hopefully we can keep it for a long time.”
Asked why they were favourites, Emery said: “Because of the beginning how we can do a list of who is favourites with the budget, of course the budget are not enough to be favourites.
“But the difference between them and us is still a big gap. But of course, we are not thinking of it.
“But I have to tell everybody, there are another seven teams in front of us in the beginning, with the budget, but we are competing and in the last two years we are progressively getting better and keeping the same level we are trying to set as a target.”
Midfielder Ross Barkley is the only absentee, with a “small injury” which will keep him out until after the next international break.
“We trained today with some players only,” Emery said. “Other players were resting. Today was good, tomorrow morning we will train again.
“We only had one injured player, who is Ross Barkley. He has a small injury. He’s not available for the next two weeks.
“The others, they are available and they are completely 100 per cent ready for Sunday.”
