Tottenham will be desperate to put an end to their slip down the Premier League table when they host Aston Villa this weekend.
Spurs were unbeaten in their first 10 games but they have lost their last two and fell from the top down to fourth before the international break.
Life under Ange Postecoglou looked to be perfect, however, his side are now facing their first real test following back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Wolves.
The Lilywhites will be hoping to get back to winning ways but they come up against Unai Emery who has his Villa side flying and in touching distance of top spot themselves.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa: Title challenge?
Are Aston Villa title contenders this season?
Emery’s men are only three points off Manchester City who sit at the top of the Premier League after 12 games.
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Villa have been unstoppable at times throughout an amazing start to the campaign, scoring the second-most goals so far.
Ollie Watkins is firing while the signing of Moussa Diaby looks to be a stroke of genius.
The Villans are also playing in the Europa Conference League but the extra fixtures don’t seem to be taking a toll on their fitness.
A win in London this weekend would move them into the top four, proving that they are well up for the Champions League fight and maybe even a title challenge.
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- Having made a 10-game unbeaten start in the Premier League this season (W8 D2), Tottenham have now lost their last two matches. They’ve opened the scoring in both of these defeats, with only four teams ever losing three consecutive Premier League games after scoring first – Blackburn in April 2007, Sunderland in February 2011, Wolves in April 2012 and Leicester in December 2014.
- Aston Villa did the Premier League double over Tottenham last season, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 21 league games against them (W2 D3 L16). They last won more consecutively against Spurs between November 1994 and January 1996 (4).
Tottenham vs Aston Villa: Team news
Tottenham were worried about Heung-min Son’s fitness over the international break, however, he is expected to be okay.
But Spurs will be without James Maddison, Richarlison, Micky van de Ven, Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon who are all out injured.
Destiny Udogie is back after serving his suspension for two yellow cards against Chelsea while Cristian Romero is still banned after a straight red in the same game.
Romero and Van de Ven’s absence means Eric Dier and Ben Davies are likely to start at centre-back again this weekend.
As for Aston Villa, they have no major issues to worry about.
Long-term absentees Emi Buendia, Jacob Ramsey and Tyrone Mings remain out.
Mings released an update on his recovery on Tuesday which allayed fears that the defender was set to retire following his ACL injury.
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- Tottenham have conceded six goals in second half stoppage time in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. Each of their last four goals conceded have come in added time at the end of the match (2 vs Chelsea, 2 vs Wolves).
- Aston Villa have won six of their last eight Premier League games (D1 L1). In fact, since the end of this season’s first international break (16th September onwards), Villa have won more games (6) and picked up more points (19) than any other side in the division.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa: What has been said?
Son picked up a knock during South Korea’s game against Singapore last week but he continued to play and scored a brace in the following match five days later.
The Tottenham skipper then spoke strongly about carrying on despite feeling pain, which shows Spurs fans they won’t be losing their key man any time soon.
He said: “I can’t give up a game just because I feel pain.
“If I can’t run anymore, then I can’t do anything about it but when I can run, I have to give 100 per cent for the team.
“I am fine now, I don’t like to lie down [on the pitch] in the winter.
“At that moment [going down] I couldn’t feel anything on my foot. I’m fine, no injury.”
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- Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has scored five goals in six Premier League appearances against Aston Villa. However, all of these strikes have come at Villa Park – only Michael Owen has scored more against an opponent without netting one at home (6 vs West Bromwich Albion).
- Only Lucas Paquetá (7) has made more successful through balls than Aston Villa’s John McGinn (5) in the Premier League this season. Three of these have been for Ollie Watkins, with only James Maddison (4 for Richarlison) providing more for a teammate so far this term.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa: How to follow
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, November 26.
Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is scheduled for 2pm.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
talkSPORT will also keep you up to date with all the latest news and reaction.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.