ASTON VILLA will be looking to get back in the winning groove when they play host to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Viilians have shown huge improvement under the management of Unai Emery but a pair of back-to-back defeats have stalled them in the race for European football.
Last time out, Villa fell to a 1-0 defeat at Wolves and that setback coupled with results elsewhere means they start the latest slate of top-flight fixtures in eighth place.
Back on home turf this weekend, Emery and Co will be hoping to breathe some life into their push for a European berth at the expense of fellow contenders Tottenham.
Following a turbulent fortnight or so, Spurs picked up a much-needed 1-10 win over Crystal Palace last Saturday, on an afternoon where my North London wager landed.
While a Champions League place is now all but out of reach, Ryan Mason will be hoping his sixth-placed side can finish the season on a high note.
Outright Betting
Aston Villa, who have triumphed in each of their last five Premier League home matches, go into this fixture as 6/5 (Bet 365) favourites.
Tottenham have failed to claim top honours in a top-fight road trip since January and the bookies' odds suggests that run will continue here, with an away win trading at 2/1 (Bet 365) while a point apiece has been priced up at 13/5 (Bet 365).
Betting Angles
Neither of these sides are a trustworthy betting proposition here given their recent form, so I'll instead head to the Bet Builder and bundle up both Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane to have shot on target alongside each team to receive a card at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Villa talisman Watkins has been keeping company with the Premier League's goalscoring elite in 2023 having notched in 11 of his last 16 top-flight appearances.
What's more, Watkins is averaging 1.3 shots on target per-game in the Premier League this season, and I expect that trend to continue against a defensively suspect Tottenham team.
As for his striking counterpart, Harry Kane – who is averaging 1.6 shots per 90 – he has been playing at the peak of his powers this season and I'm more than happy to back him to hit the target here in what should be an open and entertaining contest.
With both sides neck and neck in the race for Europe, I'll round off the Bet Builder with each team to collect at least one booking.
These two teams are averaging in the region of two yellow cards per–game this term, not to mention referee Peter Bankes' 4.21 card per-game tally is amongst the highest in the top-flight this season.
On a similar line of reasoning to the above, I'll also have a nibble on both the aforementioned Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane to score at 5/1 (Bet 365).
Both sharpshooters are housed in the top-10 scorers in the division this season and backing the pair to add to their respective tallies here looks worthy of a small investment at a nice price.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur will be played on May 13, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
