Aston Villa host Tottenham on Sunday afternoon in what is a massive clash in the race for the top four.
The Villans sit five points ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s side, having played one game more.
On the injury front, Unai Emery is currently sweating on the fitness of Jacob Ramsey. The midfielder was forced off during the 3-2 win over Luton Town and missed Thursday evening’s Conference League draw with Ajax. Moussa Diaby was handed a rare start and could feature again against Spurs.
Ahead of the game, BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has cast his thoughts on how he thinks the fixture will pan out.
Chris Sutton back Aston Villa to beat Tottenham
The former Celtic striker believes the Villa Park fixture is a tough one to call.
“What I have found difficult about making predictions this season is that there seems to be more games where there is not an outcome that would surprise me,” he said.
“I’d usually expect some patterns to be obvious where you automatically think one team is going to win or lose but there have not been many so far, other than those involving the clubs at the very bottom of the table. Instead, this is another example of a game where Villa could win or lose 3-0, or it could be a 3-3 draw.”
Sutton has backed Aston Villa’s “reliable” home form to get the job done on Sunday.
“Villa’s home form was very reliable for a while but even that has dropped off in the past few weeks and, although I am still going to say they will edge this, it is only a guess and not really based on anything concrete,” he added.
“I know Villa won the reverse fixture, but they were quite fortunate, and also, it was against a Tottenham team who were missing some key men like James Maddison through injury and suspension.
“Maddison will make a difference this time, and if the Spurs attack clicks then they will be dangerous. But you could say the same about Villa and in-form Ollie Watkins, too, and I don’t think he will have a quiet afternoon.”
Can Aston Villa cement Champions League hopes?
Both sides are very well matched, which is displayed by the tightness of the Premier League table.
Emery’s side have stepped up before this season, with the home wins over Arsenal and Manchester City being excellent examples.
A similar calibre of performance is required this weekend. Villa fans will hope for a fairly routine afternoon, but it’s hard to envisage that outcome.
Tottenham operate an extremely attacking style of play, which makes this clash a tantalising affair.
