Our betting expert has three Aston Villa vs Tottenham tips for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Villa Park (kick-off, 5.35pm). Scroll down for the analysis behind his selections.
By Jacob Potter.
- Aston Villa to win and over 3.5 goals @ 12/5 with bet365
- Morgan Rogers to score at any time @ 7/4 with bet365
- Bet Builder: Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall to be booked @ 17/2 with bet365
Villa to sweep aside depleted Spurs
Aston Villa and Tottenham will both have eyes on lifting the FA Cup this season but one of these Premier League heavyweights will exit the competition after Sunday’s fourth-round clash at Villa Park.
Neither side will head into the game in the best of form, with both feeling the effects of what has already been a gruelling season both domestically and in Europe.
Villa have won only one of their last five matches in all competitions, although they will take solace from an impressive home record, as they are unbeaten at Villa Park for 10 matches since going down to Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup at the end of October.
Celtic, Manchester City and Bayern Munich have all left Villa Park empty-handed this season and Villa will expect to see off a depleted Spurs side, piling further pressure on visiting boss Ange Postecoglou in the process.
Spurs have already exited one cup competition this week, going out with a whimper as they were thrashed 4-0 by Liverpool in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie.
That was a fourth defeat across their last five domestic games and their injury crisis also deepened at Anfield, with forward Richarlison being forced off during the first half with a problem that Postecoglou said “didn’t look too good”.
Spurs will have as many as 11 players unavailable for this game, including several first-choice defenders, and it is difficult to see them keeping a Villa side who have scored two or more goals in five of their last six home games at bay.
However, being the entertainers that they are, Spurs can contribute to a high-scoring contest, with three of their last four away fixtures having featured a minimum of four goals.
- Aston Villa vs Tottenham Tip 1: Aston Villa to win and over 3.5 goals @ 12/5 with bet365
Rogers to steal Rashford’s limelight
All eyes will be on a potential debutant at Villa Park on Sunday, with Marcus Rashford hoping to make his first Villa appearance after joining on loan from Manchester United.
Rashford will certainly be keen to impress, but there has to be doubts surrounding his match sharpness given that he has not played competitively for almost two months.
With that in mind, preference is for his new Villa team-mate Morgan Rogers to instead take centre stage and continue his own recent hot streak.
Rogers scored his first career hat-trick in his last appearance at Villa Park – the 4-2 Champions League win over Celtic – while he was also on target in the last round of this competition against West Ham.
With seven goals in his last seven home appearances, Rogers clearly enjoys playing in front of his own supporters and he should be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against Spurs’ fragile backline.
- Aston Villa vs Tottenham Tip 2: Morgan Rogers to score at any time @ 7/4 with bet365
Midfield pair could see yellow
On what is expected to be a frustrating evening at the end of a difficult week for Spurs, it would be no surprise to see one or two of their players pick up yellow cards.
Two prime candidates are midfield pair Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall.
Bentancur has been booked seven times this season despite missing a chunk of the campaign through suspension. Meanwhile, youngster Bergvall, who came off the bench against Liverpool and should return to the starting XI for this one, has the same amount of cautions and loves to get stuck in.
Both players could let their frustration get the better of them, but even if that is not the case, their combative styles mean they are never far away from feeling the wrath of the referee.
- Aston Villa vs Tottenham Tip 3: Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall to be booked @ 17/2 with bet365
