Tottenham will be licking their lips as Aston Villa face Europa League second leg deficit

Tottenham Hotspur will surely be going into their trip to face Aston Villa on Sunday night with renewed hope after their opponents were beaten 1-0 away at Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

Unai Emery’s side met the Reds in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, and they emerged on the wrong side of a tight affair at the City Ground.

Chris Wood’s second-half penalty proved to be the difference between the two Premier League sides, and that goal has left plenty of work for Villa to do in the second leg.

That clash takes place at Villa Park next Thursday, with their game against Spurs sandwiched right in the middle of the crucial European tie.

That plays perfectly into the hands of Roberto De Zerbi’s side, and Tottenham will now be sensing a chance to make it back-to-back wins this weekend.

Aston Villa surely forced into rotation vs Tottenham

A trip to face Villa away from home would usually be a daunting prospect when it approaches on the fixture list, as Emery’s men have only lost four times on home turf in the league all season.

However, the unprecedented circumstances surrounding their latest assignment this weekend will surely have Spurs licking their lips ahead of kick-off.

De Zerbi’s men desperately need to build some momentum after their victory at Wolves last weekend, and another win this time around could even lift them out of the relegation zone if other results go their way.

Their chances of securing three points have been significantly boosted by the fact that Villa are chasing their Europa League tie, as Emery will surely be forced into wholesale changes in the league this weekend.

The Villans are almost home and dry in the Champions League places at this stage, meaning all of the emphasis will be placed on their European campaign.

Throw in the fact that influential midfielder Amadou Onana also went off injured against Forest, and it is sure to be a heavily rotated team that meets Spurs this weekend, giving the visitors a huge leg up towards a potential win.

Spurs injury issues heap pressure on Richarlison

Spurs’ victory at Wolves last week brought a fresh set of issues for De Zerbi, as Xavi Simons picked up a cruciate ligament injury that will sideline him for several months.

Dominic Solanke is also potentially out for the remainder of the season after an issue that he sustained at Molineux, which piles a huge amount of pressure on Richarlison to save his team.

The Brazilian previously took his game to another level when Everton were in the middle of a serious relegation crisis, and Tottenham need history to repeat itself with the Brazilian in the coming weeks.

With the absences of Simons and Solanke alongside the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, the striker looks set to find himself as both the most obvious creative and goal threat.

De Zerbi simply has to get the best out of him until the end of the season, and if he fails to do that, then it would be a huge surprise if his team finished on the right side of the dotted line.

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