Paul Merson predicts the score for Aston Villa vs Tottenham after West Ham lose

Paul Merson has now sent in his score prediction for the clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa ahead of the two sides’ meeting.

The stakes for the clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa have now risen following West Ham United’s loss to Brentford.

The Hammers’ latest slip in the relegation battle means Spurs can leapfrog them and move out of the bottom three with a victory over Unai Emery’s side on Sunday.

A defeat for Spurs, however, will leave them where they started the gameweek – two points behind West Ham, but this time with three games to play.

Tottenham vs Aston Villa prediction as Paul Merson backs Spurs defeat

The score prediction odds are not in favour of Tottenham in their clash against Villa, but Spurs must beat those odds if they are to walk away with three points.

Paul Merson, writing in his Sportskeeda column, has now offered his prediction on the game, highlighting Tottenham’s injury concerns and the wider context around the fixture.

His prediction, though, will do little to make Spurs fans happy, with the former Arsenal man predicting a disappointing defeat for Tottenham.

He said: “Tottenham will be kicking themselves that Aston Villa did not beat Fulham last weekend. If Villa won that game, they would just take the gas off the pedal in this game with their Europa League semi-final coming up.

“But now, if Brighton win this weekend, their gap with Villa will be down to five points, which makes this a must-win game for Unai Emery’s side.

“If you told me I should take two players off the Tottenham team for this game, Xavi Simons and Dom Solanke would be my last choices. Both of them are out of this game! How are Spurs even going to win against Villa without them?

“If West Ham lose to Brentford this weekend, this game is a free swing for Tottenham. But if they win, the pressure will be on Spurs. Tottenham will hope West Ham do not win. Next weekend, the Hammers face Arsenal while Spurs have Leeds at home. So in a week’s time, it could all turn around in favour of Tottenham.

“The team that will stay up in the Premier League this season will be the one that produces a ‘wow’ result from now until the end of the season. We saw that with West Ham last weekend, when Callum Wilson scored the late winner against Everton. They need one more win like that and I expect them to have a stronger chance of winning this weekend than Tottenham.”

Score prediction – Aston Villa 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs must capitalise on Aston Villa rotation opportunity

Villa’s Champions League hopes have now been further boosted following Brighton’s defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.

Emery’s men can now afford a slip-up in the league, as their Champions League spot is more or less secured, as they hold an eight-point lead over sixth place.

With a Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest later in the week, where they need to overturn a 1-0 deficit, the Villa boss could now afford to rest key players ahead of that tie.

Should that be the case, Spurs must be on hand to capitalise and make the Hammers’ slip count.

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