Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa 11/08/19

11 August 2019

The newly-promoted Aston Villa side travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on Tottenham in their opening 2019-20 Premier League fixture.

The hosts have enjoyed a remarkable 2018-19 campaign, securing the PL top-four finish and finishing runners-up in the Champions League. However, it was a tough ride for the Spurs this summer, as they’ve pulled off just two wins in five pre-season outings (W2, D2, L1). All of those matches have featured at least one goal in the first half, with four of them seeing both teams score. Notably, the London giants have played out just two league draws for the entire 2018-19 campaign, with both of them arriving at home. Moreover, none of the previous seven H2H meetings between these two sides that have taken place in London has ended in a stalemate, with Tottenham coming out on top six times (W6, L1).

Meanwhile, the visitors have battled their way back to the English top tier through the playoffs, ultimately beating Derby County 2-1 in the playoffs final. Preparing for the new season, the Lions have featured in five pre-season friendlies, securing all five wins. Interestingly, four of those triumphs have seen Villa score three or more goals, while all five saw them prevent their rivals from scoring more than one. Notably, although Aston Villa conceded a total of 61 goals in the Championship last season, just 25 of them have come away from home (40.98%). But, they’ve scored only 32 of their total 82 league goals on the road (39.02%), which may be their main problem here.