Aston Villa vs. Tottenham
Venue: Villa Park
Kick off: 8:30PM
The pressure is mounting on Jose Mourinho ahead of today’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa following Tottenham Hotspur’s shock elimination from the Europa League.
Spurs suffered one of their worst results in their history by going down 3-2 on aggregate to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday and need to quickly respond at Villa Park.
Mourinho’s men are eighth in the Premier League, four points better off than ninth-placed Villa having played a game more than their next opponents.
Tottenham’s 3-0 loss in Zagreb on Thursday, having led 2-0 after the opening 90 minutes of the tie, will mark one of the lowest points in the club’s recent history.
It was a performance that captain Hugo Lloris labelled “a disgrace”, and one which left Mourinho questioning the professionalism of his players yet again.
Spurs would have fancied their chances of going all the way in the Europa League, but instead their campaign now comes down to next month’s EFL Cup final with Manchester City.
A top-four finish in the Premier League is not entirely out of the question just yet, though they find themselves six points adrift of the Champions League spots.
If nothing else, Mourinho will be desperate for a response from his players today, a week on from going down 2-1 to Arsenal in another massive setback for the Portuguese.
That loss to Arsenal was their ninth in 28 Premier League games this term – equalling the most ever suffered by a Mourinho-managed side in a single campaign.
That includes a run of four defeats in their last five away league games, which is as many as they had lost in their previous 20 on the road.
Villa will be looking to pile the pressure on Mourinho this afternoon, knowing that a victory will keep alive their hopes of qualifying for European football next season.
The Villans have struggled for momentum in recent weeks, having won just one of their last six in the Premier League.
Dean Smith’s men followed up a goalless draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United – Jamaal Lascelles rescuing the Magpies a 94th minute point.
Villa now face three of the established top six in their next four games and risk seeing a season that promised so much fading into nothing more than a mid-table finish.
Aston Villa possible XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Luiz, Nakamba, Traore, McGinn, Trezeguet, Watkins.
Tottenham possible XI: Lloris, Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Bale, Lucas, Bergwijn, Vinicius.