Benteke's possible return will have huge impact on Tottenham match - Kickin' It

Some sort of short intro here

Just The Facts, Please

Form (Last 5, most recent first): D W W L L

Results Last Week: NA

Upcoming Fixtures:

• First Team:
  Tottenham (Competition) - Sunday, October 20, 1600 GMT, 1100 Eastern

Tracking Villa's Progress

A look at how Aston Villa are doing compared to corresponding fixtures from last season. For a more full explanation of the corresponding fixtures table, see here.

Last year, when Tottenham visited Villa Park, Spurs won 0-4. Notice I said "last year" and not "last month," though it'd work either way. The way I see this, if Villa lose by fewer than 4, it's a moral victory!

Injuries

New Injuries Last Week:

• None

Looking Ahead

• We all remember what happened when Villa faced Tottenham a few weeks ago. But remember: that was a really depleted Aston Villa team that got thrown out there. To be fair, Tottenham weren't at their strongest either. Nevertheless, it's hard to see Villa conceding 4 goals again.
• The big story of the week will be whether or not Christian Benteke is ready to return for Aston Villa. According to the initial timeline we got (4-6 weeks), there's no way he's back. But the fact that he's been talked about as a potential starter for Belgium against Wales tomorrow means that he may be recovering more quickly than was initially thought.
• What do I think happens with Benteke? I could see him coming on as a sub. But if he really is fully healthy, I could also see Lambert throwing him on from the beginning and trying to strike quickly to get Tottenham off balance.
• I wouldn't mind seeing Villa play the 3-5-2 that worked against Manchester City, actually. Though, ideally, with a bit more possession than we saw against City. If Benteke is healthy, I'd be intrigued to see what the wing defenders/midfielders could do in sparking a quick counter.
• Basically what I'm saying is that I doubt Villa win this on the strength of their squad. Instead, they're probably going to have to rely on superior tactics and a bit of magic if they want to pull this off.
• If you're looking for the Spurs' point of view, why not pay a visit to SB Nation's excellent Tottenham blog, Cartilage Free Captain.

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