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

Aston Villa return from the international break on Sunday and host Tottenham. Can they allow fewer than four goals?

Laurence Griffiths

Some sort of short intro here

Just The Facts, Please


Position W D L GD Pts
Aston Villa 10th 3 1 3 +1 10

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.

∆ Scored ∆ Allowed ∆ Points
+2 -10 +6

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.