Aston Villa will look to pull off a shock in the third round of the FA Cup when they face in-form Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Spurs moved up to third in the Premier League table and to within seven points of leaders Chelsea after ending the Blues’ 13-match winning run with a 2-0 home success, meaning they have won five on the bounce themselves.
With Dele Alli netting six goals in his last three games and the likes of Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane in good form too, Villa face a tough task to get a win in the capital this weekend.
It hasn’t been the best of seasons for the Midlands outfit as they look to secure an instant return to the top flight, and their 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City on Monday has left Steve Bruce’s men seven points from the play-off positions.
Here are THREE reasons why Villa can cause an upset against Spurs on Sunday…
Pochettino could rest stars
After beating leaders Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday night, Tottenham moved to within seven points of the Blues at the top and with a Championship side to come at home in the cup this weekend, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino could choose to rest some of his key players such as Dele Alli and Harry Kane.
While the replacements that come into the side would obviously be of great quality and eager to make an impression, it would certainly be an advantage for Villa if those in-form stars were absent.
Spurs could lose focus
While Mauricio Pochettino and the Tottenham supporters will want to win trophies, Wednesday’s brilliant win over Premier League leaders Chelsea could prove to be more of a distraction ahead of the FA Cup, which is now probably their last priority behind the league and the Europa League.
After winning five matches in a row – and ending the Blues’ brilliant 13-match run of triumphs – complacency could also become an issue and it is something that Steve Bruce’s men must take advantage of if it does.
They’ve got Steve Bruce
That’s right. Aston Villa have a boss that has great experience of managing in the Premier League and know-how when it comes to winning matches against top-flight sides in Bruce, and they will hope that’ll allow them to cause an upset against Spurs.
He will need to start by working with his defence to keep out a Tottenham side that is on fire at the current time.
