"This will be a good game" - Mark Lawrenson makes interesting scoreline prediction for Aston Villa vs Tottenham
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has predicted Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa will play out a draw in their Premier League clash on March 10.
The Villans host Spurs at Villa Park on Sunday in a crucial clash for the top four places in the league. Villa are currently fourth in the table and have done exceedingly well under Unai Emery this season. They have won 17, drawn four and lost six of their league games so far.
Aston Villa beat Luton Town beat Luton Town 3-2 away in their last league game. They then played out a goalless draw at Ajax in their UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16 first leg in midweek.
Tottenham, meanwhile, beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at home in their last game. They are fifth in the league standings, five points behind Villa with a game in hand. A win for either side could be a big step in their pursuit of Champions League football next season.
Lawrenson, though, believes the two sides will share the spoils on Sunday in a 2-2 draw as he wrote in his column for Paddy Power:
"This will be a good game, it will be very, very open. You’d certainly expect goals in it but I think it might be a draw."
Villa have beaten Spurs in their previous three meetings. The north London side dominated their clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this season but Aston Villa won 2-1.
Tottenham receive big injury boost ahead of Aston Villa clash
In a huge boost for thm, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Pedro Porro is fit and available for selection.
Porro suffered a muscular injury earlier this month and missed Spurs' last two games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace. They lost against Wolves before beating Palace, both at home.
In a pre-match press conference ahead of the Aston Villa clash, Ange gave an injury update, saying:
"From last week everyone got through ok and are available, Pedro has trained so he's available as well and the rest are still in rehab."
Porro is one of the key players for Spurs as the right-back is often involved in the build-up, inverting into midfield and attack. The Spaniard has laid out eight assists in 23 league games this season.