Tottenham host Aston Villa in a game likely to be significant in the race for European qualification. Mark Lawrenson predicts home advantage may swing the tie.

A huge game in the race for European places

Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are two well-matched teams. Over the last two seasons, they have finished next to each other in the Premier League table.

Aston Villa finished 1 point above Tottenham claiming the last European qualification spot in the 2022-2023 season and last year snatched Champions League qualification away from Spurs finishing only 2 points ahead.

If the last two seasons are anything to go by, this game will be significant by the end of the season. Aston Villa were successful home and away against Tottenham in 2022-2023, but last season in the Premier League, it was the away team that prospered. Spurs secured a comprehensive 0-4 win at Villa Park while Villa won 1-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Lawro predicts Tottenham vs Aston Villa score

Speaking to Paddy Power, Lawrenson believes Tottenham’s strength at home will see them through.

He said: “For all their faults, Tottenham are good at home. Less so away from home but I’ll go with Spurs to win this. I just wonder with Villa if they might be about to go into a bit of a poor run with all the games catching up with them.”

Home wins are vital while away form struggles

Undeniably, Tottenham have been struggling away from home. They have only managed to claim 4 points from a possible 15 on the road so far in the Premier League. Conversely, Spurs have won all of their home games across all competitions this season, other than the 0-1 loss in the NLD.

With Ange Postecoglou insistent on improving on last year’s 5th-place finish, claiming home points against one of Spurs’ primary top 4 contenders is going to be essential in achieving that goal.

With James Maddison and Pedro Porro managing to be rested during the midweek game against Manchester City, there is hope Tottenham can capitalise on their League Cup win and continue their indomitable home form.

European giants consider stunning deal to re-sign Tottenham squad star with Conte elbowed aside

Juventus are reportedly considering re-signing Tottenham’s Radu Dragusin in the January transfer window – but he is not their top target.

The 22-year-old has largely played second fiddle to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven at the heart of Tottenham‘s defence since moving from Genoa in January 2024 for £21.5m (€25.5m, $27.8m).

Dragusin has made just 15 appearances for Spurs, with the Romania international limited to a paltry five Premier League starts so far.

The 6ft 3in defender, who has also been linked with Napoli, is less than 12 months into a six-and-a-half-year contract with the north London side and if he does go, he will not go on the cheap.

Now, Gazzetta dello Sport claims Juventus are looking at possibilities to sign their former player, who spent five years at the Serie A giants; without really making a dent on their first-team.

However, the report also states that Paris Saint-Germain centre-back and Slovakia international Milan Skriniar is their first choice pick if the 29-year-old is available.

Whether or not Dragusin heads back to Juve or makes a move in January is up in the air – although fresh comments tend to suggest he may stay put.

Dragusin exit played down

After Dragusin impressed in Tottenham’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Manchester City in midweek, his agent Florin Manea has again played down any talk of an exit from the club in early 2025.

He told Tutto Juve: “He’s coming off a great match against Manchester City, now he’s focused on the rest of the season. He wants to do well with Tottenham. I learn about it from the Italian newspapers, I honestly don’t know anything about it (transfer rumours).

“With Juventus as far as I’m concerned, there have been no contacts. As always, the final say in these cases will be up to the club he belongs to, but the boy is happy here at Tottenham.”

And Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has also hinted Dragusin is very much part of his plans going forward.

He told reporters on Friday: “Radu’s been with us 10 months now and I think he’s been great. We signed him because we saw some really strong attributes in him in terms of his defending capabilities, his mindset and again a really unique journey that he had to fight hard to get where he wants to. So, he had all those things I look for.

“He is still young and he is working hard every day on his game and all aspects of his game. Defenders you know they tend to get better with age with experience, the good ones, and with him, guys like Micky (van de Ven) and Destiny (Udogie), the reason we signed them at the age they did is we really believe in years to come they’ll get stronger and he is doing that.

“Every time he is out there I think I can see improvements. He is really embracing the way we play. It is very different to where he came from, playing so aggressively with our line and defending one-on-one but he’s embracing that and enjoying that. I thought he was great the other night. Not just in his football but in terms of his presence and demeanour, he took some leadership there.”