TALK of Tottenham sitting at the top of the Premier League table seems like a distant memory and the capital club can expect little respite when Aston Villa come calling on Sunday.
Spurs had enjoyed a solid start to their new era under Nuno Espirito Santo, winning their opening three league matches to make themselves early table-toppers.
But Tottenham's form has since taken a nosedive, with the Londoners losing their subsequent three league matches in September, shipping exactly three goals on each occasion.
Nuno's side were listless in the first half of last Sunday's north London derby drubbing, but Thursday's 5-1 Europa Conference League mauling of NS Mura has eased the pressure on the Portuguese.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, will head south riding the crest of a wave after a well-deserved 1-0 triumph at Old Trafford last weekend.
That means Dean Smith's side have now won back-to-back leagues for the first time this season so Villa will roll into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in high spirits.
Outright Betting
Tottenham have won six of the last seven meetings between the sides and a much-needed Spurs win this weekend pays 8/7 at SBK.
Aston Villa emerged victorious from this venue last season but the same outcome on Sunday is an unfancied 45/17 (SBK) while the stalemate has been chalked up at 13/5 (SBK) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
It's hard to be tempted about Tottenham winning this match at the aforementioned price so I'm going to steer clear of the 1×2 market and instead head to the Bet Builder feature.
If we combine over one match goal, both teams to receive a card and over two Aston Villa corners we will be presented with a backable 4/5 play at Bet 365.
As already alluded to, Spurs have shipped three strikes in each of their last three top-flight fixtures, while all but one of Aston Villa's league outings thus far have produced two or more goals.
With that in mind, coupled with the plethora of attacking talent that will be on show during this dust-up, I'm more than happy to side with over one match goal.
To nudge up the price, I'll also back both teams to collect at least one card in what should be a closely-fought contest in the capital.
Hosts Tottenham are averaging 2.17 cards per-game this term, while Aston Villa are averaging a joint league-high 2.3 cautions per 90 minutes.
Referee Chris Kavanagh is a standard-frequency card issuer but it's worth noting that the English whistler dished out six bookings when taking charge of Leicester's 2-2 draw with Burnley last weekend.
I'll complete the combination with over two Aston Villa corners – the West Midland guests have hit the 3+ flag kick line in each of their six league games this season, not to mention Smith's side hit 11 and five corners when visiting both Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.
One player who looks overpriced to get on the scoresheet on Sunday is Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn who's as big as 10/1 and as short as 4/1 elsewhere.
The all-action Scotsman, who notched in north London two seasons ago, likes to take pop shots from range and the 10/1 (UniBet) about McGinn to make the net bulge on Sunday looks a little bit too big to me.
This English Premier League match between Tottenham and Aston Villa will be played on Oct 3, 2021 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Tottenham vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.