Overview
After finishing last season in 17th place in the Premier League under Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham continues to show very few signs of recovery this season under new coach Thomas Frank.
Tottenham suffered their eighth defeat in the tournament, when they succumbed 2-3 at Bournemouth's home ground by Antoine Semenyo's decisive goal in the 95th minute. That result pushed Tottenham down to 14th place with 27 points after 21 matches, 13 points ahead of the relegation group but 21 points behind the leading team Arsenal.
What happened after the match made the atmosphere even more suffocating. Fans poured their disappointment on the players, even turning to criticize Frank, while the image of him being photographed drinking coffee from a cup with the Arsenal logo right at Vitality further angered fans.
A first victory in 2026 this weekend may temporarily soothe the storm at Tottenham. However, getting a good result against Aston Villa is clearly not easy, especially when Spurs have lost 2/3 of their last matches against this team in the FA Cup, including a 1-2 defeat at Villa Park in the 4th round last season.
However, Tottenham - the team that has won the FA Cup 8 times - still has a certain foothold. They have passed the third round in 18/19 of their most recent times and maintain this record for 11 consecutive seasons since losing to Arsenal 0-2 in the 2013-2014 season.
In the opposite direction, Aston Villa missed the opportunity to narrow the gap with Arsenal in the Premier League title race when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This is also their first draw in all competitions since the end of September.
Unai Emery's team aims for their 10th victory in 11 Premier League matches, but could not penetrate Palace's defense, thereby missing the opportunity to reach the 45-point mark after 21 rounds for the first time in history.
Villa's upcoming schedule is dense, including Premier League matches against Everton, Newcastle and Brentford, and two Europa League matches against Fenerbahce and Red Bull Salzburg. However, ahead of them is the FA Cup - a tournament that Villa has won 7 times and the last time they raised the cup was in 1957.
Villa have won the last 2 FA Cup third-round matches after a period of decline, when they were eliminated in this round in the previous 7 seasons. More importantly, Aston Villa is having a starting point against Spurs.
They have won all three of their most recent encounters in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory right at Tottenham in the Premier League in October. The last time Villa defeated an opponent twice away from home in the same season was Norwich City in the 2012-2013 season.
Personnel situation
Tottenham continues to face personnel problems before the weekend match. Two midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur both had to leave the field in the defeat against Bournemouth in the middle of the week.
Bergvall has muscle problems and his ability to play is still uncertain, while Bentancur is likely absent due to a hamstring injury.
Mohammed Kudus will be sidelined until after the national team training camp in March due to a thigh injury. He, along with Destiny Udogie (thigh), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and James Maddison (front cross-lung) will continue to sit out.
Aston Villa also suffered certain losses. Amadou Onana (muscle) and Ross Barkley (knee) are still injured, while Evann Guessand continues to serve in the African Cup with the Ivory Coast team.
Pau Torres returned to the starting lineup in the middle of next week after recovering from a calf injury and may be considered for starting. Center-back Tyrone Mings (muscles) will also be checked for fitness before kick-off.
In attack, Morgan Rogers is a notable name when he has directly participated in 5 goals in 4 encounters with Spurs in all competitions (3 goals, 2 assists).
Expected lineup:
Kinsky, Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Davies, Palhinha, Gray, Kolo Muani, Simons, Tel, Richarlison.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Garcia, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Bogarde, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Sancho, Malen.
The match between Tottenham and Aston Villa takes place at 0:45 AM on January 11 (Vietnam time).
