By Ian KingA win that didn’t feel like a winFour games to play. The absolute best that can be said about Spurs’ 1-0 win at Wolves last Saturday is that they got the three points. They got the win. The bad news was just about everything else, with relegation rivals West Ham keeping them in the bottom three thanks to an even later goal than theirs, and serious injuries to both Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke. Aston Villa had improved a little recently, but even that doesn’t mask the fact that they’ve only won four of their last 14 League games, with a 1-0 loss at Fulham last weekend and another one in their Europa League semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest on Thursday night. A win on Sunday evening would put them one more win from qualification for next year’s Champions League, but their form has been patchy for a while. The historical record doesn’t do Spurs any favoursSpurs have lost their last four in a row against Aston Villa, and have won just two of their last nine meetings, going back to 2021. Prior to that, Spurs won six in a row, a run which stretched back to 2015. They didn’t play each other for two years, after Villa were relegated into the Championship in 2017. The balance of power in this fixture very much matches not only the decline of Spurs since 2021 but also the rise of Aston Villa since then. Following their relegation and two-year sojourn in the EFL, Villa have essentially usurped Spurs as “that team that usually finishes about fourth or fifth in the Premier League.” But go back a little further, and they are also a living, walking, breathing example that relegation very much can happen to a club of their size, if that club is managed badly enough.Villa have already beaten Spurs twice this season, 2-1 both times, once in the League, once in the FA Cup, on both occasions at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. When Morgan Rogers is on his game, Aston Villa tend to be tooWhen Morgan Rogers is on top of his game, he is one of the best players in the entire Premier League to watch. He scored in their recent 4-3 win against Sunderland at Villa Park, and when he’s playing well, Villa usually are. Able to play on either wing or as an AM, he’s scored 12 goals across all competitions, but it should be a little concerning that the Forest game was the 50th of his club season.He hasn’t always been the most popular Spurs player, but over the last few games Pedro Porro has been one of their most consistent performers. Prone to the occasional defensive lapse but also capable of both scoring and creating goals, he scored his first of the season in their 2-2 draw against Brighton a fortnight ago. Simons adds to De Zerbi injury woesThere hasn’t been that much for Spurs supporters to smile about this season, but a feeling had been growing that Xavi Simons could be the key to rescuing their season, so his loss to a ruptured ACL was a tragedy for both the player and his club. He joins Gugliemo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Mohammed Kudus, Pape Mate Sarr, Wilson Odobert, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, and Dejan Kulusevski in the treatment room, while James Maddison has been on the bench although there’s been little to suggest that he’s match-fit and Roberto De Zerbi would be taking a gamble by rushing him back. Aston Villa have a normal amount of injuries, and all the players on their substitutes’ bench can walk without aid or assistance. Amadou Onana started the Nottingham Forest match but had to be withdrawn after 55 minutes, and Alysson won’t be ready in time, though his rehabilitation from a muscle injury is understood to be progressing well. Boubacar Kamara almost certainly won’t play again this season. Aston Villa’s form is patchy, but it’s still light years better than Spurs’The problem with Spurs’ win at Wolves last weekend was that the fact that they won it 1-0 was more or less the only good thing to have come out of it. Wins are the only things that matter at this point of the season but, while being able to ‘win ugly’ is a useful trait to have, it’s high-risk for this to be the only thing that your team has in the tank. In Simons and Solanke, they’ve lost another two players who, on their day, could turn their season around. The relegation picture prior to Friday’s gameAston Villa haven’t been in great form for quite a while, and having perked up a little with two wins and a draw following three straight defeats, their 1-0 defeats to Fulham and Nottingham Forest were both lacklustre. And of course, with Unai Emery being Mr Europa League and few injuries restricting him, he could shuffle his pack for this one and rest one or two players ahead of the second leg of their semi-final, which is only next Thursday. But Aston Villa are simply a better team than Spurs at the moment. And while their recent form has been patchy, it’s still been better than their opponents’ has been, even notwithstanding last weekend’s results. Spurs need the points, but Villa do as well, so it’s difficult to see them getting any from this match. 2-0 Villa, and the trapdoor below Spurs to edge a little further open.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game in the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.