HOTSPURS AND VILLAINS
Good afternoon and welcome to London for our live coverage of the Premier League clash between Tottenham and Aston Villa.
The news of a managerial sacking in the south-east this morning may have had Nuno Espirito Santo momentarily worried, but the Portuguese coach remains in the Spurs hot seat despite the preposterous prospect of pressure after six games in charge.
Last Sunday’s humbling at rivals Arsenal was a third Premier League defeat in succession in which they had conceded three goals, and left some Spurs fans sharpening their sacking knives as they exited the Emirates.
Their trio of 1-0 wins to start the season has been quickly forgotten with the shot-shy Londoners second bottom in terms of expected goals and points.
In contrast, life after Jack Grealish has been relatively rosy for opponents Aston Villa. Dean Smith’s men have settled in the top half of the table and last weekend scored a memorable win at Old Trafford.
Summer arrival Danny Ings has taken to his new West Midlands surroundings, contributing two goals and two assists, and now travels to the capital with a fine record against this afternoon’s opponents.
Harry Kane, on the other hand, has endured a miserable beginning to his Premier League campaign after a close season move to Manchester City failed to materialise; the England captain is without a goal involvement from five appearances this term.
However, the striker did fire himself into form with a hat-trick off the bench against NS Mura in the Europa League on Thursday, and will be desperate to continue in that vein today.
Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is set for 2pm, and we’ll have soon have news of today’s team as part of our pre-match build-up.
