Tottenham Hotspur vs. Aston Villa: Match Preview, Projected Lineups & Predictions

In the mix. A needed demolishing of AFC Bournemouth last weekend has boosted Spurs up to currently 6th in the table. With a win today, they will move into 5th place and just one point behind Manchester United for fourth place. Spurs supporters were excited to see Harry Kane finally getting to scoring ways last week as he tallied a hat trick. The question will be if Tottenham can put together its first two consecutive league wins since September.

Traveling to White Hart Lane is last place Aston Villa, who just one week ago fired manager Tim Sherwood, formerly of Spurs. Interim Manager Kevin MacDonald's team will be looking to get its first league points since August 29th, and having not won since...the league opening game August 8th. The Villains do post a few attacking threats though in the Rudy Gestede, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Jordan Ayew.

Can Spurs add insult to injury for Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa post-script?  We shall see.

How to Watch

Date/time: Monday, November 2, 8:00 p.m. (UK), 3:00 p.m. ET (USA)
Venue: White Hart Lane, London, UK
Official: Mike Dean
TV: NBCSN (USA), Sky Sports 1 (UK), Sportsnet World (Canada), Fox Sports 4 (Australia), other listings at livesoccertv.com
Streaming: NBCS Live Extra (USA)
Radio: Audio streamed at tottenhamhotspur.com, also BBC Radio London and TalkSport

Projected Lineup

Stability! We actually predict Tottenham using their same starting lineup as last week that achieved great results versus Bournemouth. The key will again come in getting the attack going, as Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela look to put in strong performances in the face of Son Heung-Min and Nacer Chadli's continued absences with injury.

Prediction League

As for the Prediction League, nearly all saw Spurs beating Bournemouth but nobody could predict the score perfectly. The rules remain the same in the Prediction League -- one point for a correct prediction and a bonus point for getting the score correct. Here are the current standings:

Michael Caley: 2-1 Spurs. Aston Villa were never embarrassingly bad (mostly cursed by close losses), but at home we're clearly better.

Bryan A.: Lots of good things have happened for me lately, so in true cynical fashion that can only mean bad things for Spurs. 1-1 Draw.

GN_Punk: I'm also very upset that we don't get to be the ones who sent Tim Sherwood out to pasture. Villa are a hot mess and we are not. Kane nets a brace. Eriksen nails a free kick. Hugo plays Angry Birds in net. Spurs 3-0

Mechanick: I like Pochettino having the coaching advantage over MacDonald. I like Harry Kane getting in from. I like our Belgian defensive duo shutting down a limp Aston Villa attack. 2-0 Spurs

Ed F.: 3-1 Spurs.

Skipjack: TBD

Dustin Menno: I am deeply saddened that Tim Sherwood didn’t make it long enough for us to kick his ass one final time. Aston Villa are… well, let’s just call them "not good." Plus they start Alan Hutton, which means I hate them. 4-0 Spurs

Brett Rainbow: TBD

Ben Daniels: We are good and Villa are not, even without Sherwood. 2-0 Spurs

55thVin: I think we gave up a silly goal to Bournemouth and the guys will be out to prove a point defensively. The attack will do enough. 3-0 Spurs

Earl of Shoop: After taking a couple of weeks off to let the rest of the gang get just far enough ahead to get complacent, I'm back with a surefire prediction. Villa are just awful, you guys, and we're going to crush them. They weren't good with Tim, and they're probably worse without him (at least for now). Plus Randy Lerner, so, bad things. 3-0 Spurs.

Luke Zimmerman: I MISS MY UNCLE SHERWOOD, Y’ALL We’ll all see him at the crossroads soon enough, but until we do, I like Spurs to win and win big. 3-0, good guys. The Harry Kane pants party continues. 3-0 Spurs

Matthew Pachniuk: With no midweek fixture and an extra day of rest, Spurs should be ready for this.  Villa are also a disjointed mess.  Let the good form continue.  Spurs 3-0

Jake Meador: 3-0 to Spurs. Kane x2, Eriksen

Salmon Chase: I don't know who any of these people making predictions are. But I do know this, I'll probably pop my pants at some point in my future, also that a 3-0 win is coming for the good guys. 3-0 Spurs