Key events
38 min: Asensio tries to get forward but Sarr fouls him a couple times before the whistle is blown. The Spaniard looks most likely to make something happen for the hosts at the moment. From the resulting free-kick Konsa’s header is saved.
36 min: Asensio bends one from right outside the box! It is just wide as he can’t get the curve on it that he needs. Kinsky was absolutely rooted in his spot.
34 min: Gray gets booked for a late foul on Watkins. No complaints from the teenager.
32 min: Wow! Villa with some great one-touch passes around the box. Watkins, from a tight angle, looks like he is going to shoot but pulls it back into the middle of the penalty box but none of his teammates have anticipated that pass and it is cleared away.
28 min: The camera flashes to Rashford who is watching his team on from the stands. Has he played his last game for Villa? Asensio dances past three white shirts before he finds Watkins! Great feet and an equally fantastic pass! Watkins’ shot from close range is blocked by Danso.
27 min: Asensio attempts an audacious little flick with his back to goal but it is off target.
26 min: Maatsen gets past Moore and Spence but his cross is easily cleared.
23 min: Cash is booked for gesturing to the referee to book Sarr after a foul. Silly decision by the player.
22 min: Beautiful ball from Torres! It’s a low through ball that breaks the lines for Watkins but uncharacteristically the striker tries to find Asensio instead of going for goal. He had the space for a shot!
19 min: Chance for Villa now! Onana whips a gorgeous ball for Rogers who gets the faintest of touches before the ball bounces down on the ground as it goes goalward. Kinsky is full-stretch and makes a big save to deny the hosts.
16 min: Spurs do well to break after being pressed near the halfway line. Some great play from Son to Odobert gets the ball forward to Tel on the left. He holds on the ball for a moment before finding Odobert in the middle of the penalty box. The No 28’s first-time flick is some good improvisation but Martínez sticks his foot out to save. Spurs are pushing!
14 min: Spurs counter after a Villa free-kick. Odobert does well to hold up the ball and finds Son who bends one in from the left that is just over the bar. Close!
13 min: Spurs win a corner. They’ve scored from 10 corners this season. Can they make it 11? Son whips it in … straight into the hands of Martínez.
10 min: Son is starting on the left, with Odobert and Tel playing in a front two. No No 10 is fit for the visitors so Postecoglou has opted to play without one.
7 min: McGinn gets the better of Spence and goes for goal right outside the box but fails to hit the target. He makes it clear how disappointed he is with the miss.
6 min: Torres crosses it into the box and Kinsky does really well to get a touch on it and palm it away before the ball lands straight onto Watkins’ head.
5 min: Davies finds Son with a fantastic pass. The South Korean times his run well to stay on-side and he gets ahead of Cash but opts to be unselfish and pass, which Martínez intercepts. Should he have gone for goal there?
2 min: Cash surges forward but his cross is blocked before any damage can be done in the Spurs box.
1 min: Watkins chases an early long ball over the top but Kinsky rushes out and clears it straight into the press box. Hopefully Ben Fisher ducked!
Kick-off: Aston Villa 0-0 Tottenham
Here we go for the final time at Villa Park! Aston Villa in their home claret and blue and Tottenham in white and navy blue.
The teams are out and kick-off is moments away at Villa Park!
The pre-match postbag is here!
Jim on what the Spurs line-up tells us about next week’s final:
The front line for Spurs today is interesting. I think Tel may be playing as the striker with Son as a number 10. With Kulusevski out it’s not clear who will fill in for Madison on Wednesday, and any of Tel, Son, or Odobert could be auditioning for that role this evening.
Jeremy with some Rashford analysis:
Rashford will not be playing any part in Villa’s last two games this season, just like last season at VeryOld Trafford, but he remains a constant source of fascination for fans and neutrals, an enigma wrapped in clouds of doubt and uncertainty. If only he could deliver on the pitch as he has on the social level, let’s not forget, he shamed a government and became an overnight people-person. We all think of him as a 22-year-old with chin fuzz and great attitude, he’s nearly 28 and should be in the prime of his life, but here he is, struggling for identity, form and a club. We all want him to be brilliant/the new Harry Kane for England, but time may run out on the lad before he gets to realise his potential. Whatever, 3-0 Villa, despite their protests about the game brought forward …
And Antony hears something in the distance:
UTV. Hear that Yara? Listen carefully …. Squeaky bum time. In a season of massive games for us this is yet another. Enjoy the match.
Tonight is Unai Emery’s 100th Premier League match in charge at Aston Villa.
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Games: 99
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Wins: 53
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Draws: 21
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Defeats: 25
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Goal difference: +36
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Clean sheets: 25
Villa playing Champions League football next season partly relies on results of teams around them. One of them is Chelsea, who host Manchester United at Stanford Bridge.
Rob Smyth will bring you all the updates from that game.
The European Cup Aston Villa lifted in 1982 is on display at Villa Park tonight. Fans have been lining up to take a photo with the trophy alongside Tony Morley, who was in the starting team for Villa’s triumph over Bayern Munich in 1982.
Opta has crunched the numbers and here are the standout stats for this match:
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Spurs have won 11 away Premier League games at Villa Park. Only away to Manchester City (12) do they have a better record.
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Aston Villa re unbeaten in their last 20 home games in all competitions (W 14 D 6). It is their best streak in 48 years, with their last longer run coming between September 1976 and May 1977 (24).
Despite Tottenham’s make or break game of the season coming next week, Ange Postecoglou said he will “put out a team that hopefully gets the job done” against Aston Villa and “go out there to try to win the game.”
The head coach said tonight’s game could be a chance for his players to prove themselves for the final.
It’s an opportunity for them to put their name forward for the big game the following week because, as we have already seen in the past couple of weeks, as much as you would like to think there is an ideal starting line-up things happen and players have to be ready for that.
Marcus Rashford is not involved tonight, as expected. The striker, on loan from Manchester United, has failed to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered last month. Rashford cannot play in Villa’s final game of the season at his parent club United on 25 May.
Rashford has made 17 appearances for Villa, scoring four goals, since joining from Old Trafford in February and earned an England recall in March after a 12-month absence. It is unlikely he will play for United again while Ruben Amorim is the head coach owing to a breakdown in their relationship. Another loan deal is an option. Villa have a £40m option to buy the player but his future remains unclear. Rashford has made clear he wants a Champions League club and is reluctant to join a team in London.
In our 10 things to look out for this weekend Ben Fisher wrote that Aston Villa could use their “anger” and the rescheduling of this fixture to motivate them to a win. The Premier League agreed to bring forward Tottenham’s trip to Villa Park by 48 hours in order to help them prepare for a Europa League final (before they even reached said final).
The flipside to all of this is Villa can get on the front foot, kicking off 45 minutes before Chelsea entertain Manchester United and two days before Nottingham Forest head to West Ham and Arsenal host Newcastle. Victory for Villa could hoist them as high as fourth before a final-day trip to Old Trafford and, psychologically, that could prove a knockout blow.
Read more from Ben and the rest of our writers on what to keep an eye out for this weekend.
Team news
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; McGinn, Kamara; Onana, Asensio, Rogers; Watkins
Subs: Olsen, Diasi, Bogarde, Digne, García, Mings, Barkley, Bailey, Malen
Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky; Spence, Danso, Davies, Reguilón; Gray, Sarr; Odobert, Son, Moore; Tel
Subs: Vicario, Porro, Bissouma, Cassanova, Bentancur, Olusesi, Johnson, Richarlison, Solanke
Referee: Peter Bankes
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the penultimate matchday of the 2024-25 Premier League season. The champions have been decided. Those going back to the Championship have been decided. But second place, Champions League spots and qualification for next’s season’s Europa and Conference League still hang in the balance.
Aston Villa, who host Spurs tonight at Villa Park, have an outside chance of finishing second but they would need to win tonight and their final game of the season and hope several results go their way for that to happen.
Instead Unai Emery’s men will be targeting a finish in the top five which guarantees Champions League football next season. Only five points currently separate Arsenal in second and Villa in sixth. As things stand, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester City and Chelsea occupy the top five, but Villa along with Nottingham Forest are well-placed to capitalise on any slip ups.
As for Tottenham, full focus is understandably on the Europa League final against Manchester United. Ange Postecoglou’s side are a lowly 17th in the table and the manager will likely rest many of his starters tonight.
Join me for team news and buildup before the 7.30pm BST kick-off. And, as always, feel free to send me an email with your thoughts, questions, predictions, complaints and rituals. I want to hear it all!
