Tottenham host Aston Villa in north London on 19 September 2026 and four games in, it is already a quietly desperate Premier League fixture for both clubs. Spurs sit 17th on two points, Villa 19th on one and neither has found anything resembling league form yet. Tottenham have drawn with Everton and Nottingham Forest and lost to Newcastle and Liverpool without scoring a single Premier League goal, while Villa's record is just as grim, with losses to Nottingham Forest and Hull either side of a draw with Hull, though they have at least beaten Coventry in the Carabao Cup and Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Roberto De Zerbi arrived at Tottenham on 31 March 2026, taking over from Igor Tudor, who had himself replaced Frank in February 2026 after Frank's appointment in June 2025 ended the Postecoglou era. Emery, by contrast, has been settled at Villa since November 2022 and across five meetings between the two managers, De Zerbi has won two and lost three, which does not exactly fill you with optimism if you are a Spurs fan.
Spurs lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on 15 September, drew 0-0 with Everton on 12 September and 0-0 with Forest on 5 September and were beaten 2-0 at Newcastle on 29 August, making it four competitive games without a goal. Villa at least have some positive results to point to: a 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Coventry on 16 September followed a 2-1 Premier League loss to Forest on 12 September, with a 3-2 Champions League win over Club Brugge on 8 September and a 0-0 draw with Hull on 5 September also in the mix.
Tottenham are badly stretched in attack and midfield, with Kulusevski, Simons, Odobert and Mudryk all absent through injury and Tonali a doubt. De Zerbi will have to reshape things around whoever is available, with Van de Ven anchoring the back line and Solanke leading the attack alone. Villa are short too, with Torres out with a hamstring injury, Goretzka and Onana sidelined with knee problems, Maatsen out long term and Matty Cash a doubt, though Emery still has McGinn, Buendía and Kamara available, which gives him enough to run his preferred midfield shape without resorting to makeshift options.
With Tonali a potential absentee, Solanke is left to hold the line essentially alone and the hole in central midfield is not easy to fill. Spurs will have the ball for large stretches of this game but converting possession into actual chances is a different matter entirely. Villa under Emery defend in a low block and have the structure to absorb pressure for long periods, a pattern the 3-2 win over Brugge and the draw with Hull both confirmed. Set pieces are worth watching too, because a depleted Spurs squad looks ill equipped to handle Villa's threat from dead ball situations and that angle alone could prove decisive.
Tottenham lead the overall head to head record but the recent history between these two sides is tight, Villa winning their 2025 meeting before Spurs took the points in May 2026. These have generally been low scoring, tactical matches rather than high scoring or back and forth games, which makes it hard to see this one opening up, particularly given how Villa are structured to invite pressure and make the home side work for every inch.
Spurs have not scored in four league games and are missing most of the players who would be expected to change that. Villa's set piece quality and defensive structure make three points achievable without needing to outplay Spurs for long stretches and the case for a Villa win does not really depend on Emery's side doing anything extraordinary. The scoreline reflects both Villa's structural edge and Spurs' inability to convert pressure into goals across four games, so Villa to nick it without being convincing: 2-1.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
