Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Poole
BBC Sport journalist

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Stop falling behind, defend set-pieces better, and Tottenham would make life significantly easier for their supporters.

But after a first-half of unwanted familiar themes against Aston Villa, the second highlighted one encouraging characteristic the club have developed under Ange Postecoglou: resilience.

First, though, the bad.

Since the start of last season, Tottenham have conceded 20 goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) - with only Nottingham Forest (24) conceding more.

They have kept only one clean sheet in their past 20 Premier League home games - August’s 4-0 win over Everton - and they have conceded the opening goal in 12 of their 14 at home in the competition in 2024.

But they have now come back to win eight of those 12 matches – including a 4-1 win over West Ham in their previous home game.

To do so again on Sunday after the collective effort required to beat Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday shows the team spirit is alive and well in the Spurs dressing room, despite a mixed start to the campaign.

With summer signing Dominic Solanke starring with a double against Villa, Postecoglou will hope his big-money addition can now spearhead his team's search for consistency.

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Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou spoke to BBC Sport after today's win: "Villa are a good side. The first half was a bit of an arm wrestle. They have a consistent level of performance. We have other gears in us which we showed in the second half."

On Son Heung-min being replaced: "He was never going to play more than 55 minutes. Last time he came back from injury he got to the 60-minute mark and got injured again. He got through unscathed."

On Dominic Solanke: "Unbelievable effort. The work he did midweek against City. His goals are unbelievable but his general play, his work-rate, I can't speak highly enough of him.

"Seven days is a long time in football. Seven days ago I was a grumpy old so and so. We have to stay true to the course we're on.

"We made sure not to feel sorry for ourselves and back to the team we want to be."

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Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke has been speaking to Sky Sports after today's victory: "We stuck with it. A few times this season we've gone a goal down. Against Palace we didn't react in the right way but today we did.

"We always believe we can score many goals. It all came together today in the second half.

"We had to adapt to the way they were playing. At half-time we had time to regroup and discuss what we had to do.

On his goals: "It's been a few games without one [goal]. I've been trying to get one and I got two. Buzzing with it.

"When we are playing well we can score many goals and we showed that today.

"We've had some great games but haven't managed to do it the whole season but we think we're capable of it."

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• Since the start of last season, Tottenham Hotspur have gone on to win 10 Premier League matches in which they conceded the first goal; the joint-most of any team in the competition along with Manchester City, they have also won three of their last four in which they have gone 0-1 down.

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Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

There are two matches that make up Sunday's Premier League action. Follow all the action and reaction on the links below:

• Tottenham v Aston Villa - 14:00

• Manchester United v Chelsea - 16:30

Kick-off times GMT

Listen to commentary of both games on BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 10, he takes on The Piano TV series winner Brad Kella.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

The away team won on both occasions when these two sides met last season, and you could make a case for Tottenham or Aston Villa coming out on top here.

I do like the way Spurs play, but they could do with having Son Heung-min fit. He has missed three of their past four league games - and they have a few other injuries too.

Whoever is missing, though, Ange Postecoglou will not change his bullish approach. I admire that and I find it amazing the way people view Spurs at the moment.

They have won eight of their past 10 games in all competitions, which is pretty good I think, but there is always this underlying 'Spursy' or 'typical Spurs' label they get given whenever they slip up.

That could happen here, of course. Spurs will dominate the ball this time but I have no doubt that Villa will score, because they carry such a threat and their front players will definitely have their moments in this game.

So there will definitely be plenty of goals... but maybe there won't be a winner this time.

Tottenham have not had a draw since the first game of the season and I think they will get one here.

Brad's prediction: 2-0

Aston Villa have started the season really well and Tottenham are very up and down... but I'm giving this one to Spurs.

Read the full predictions and have your say

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says criticism "is part of our journey" and will make the team "stronger".

Having won four and lost four games, while drawing the other, in their nine Premier League games so far, Spurs have been criticised for their inconsistency.

They followed up a disappointing defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend with a impressive win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Postecoglou's side now have a tough test against high-flying Aston Villa in the league on Sunday but the Spurs boss insists they need to continue in what they are doing to grow as a team.

"Criticism and scrutiny is healthy because it allows you to reflect on your beliefs and convictions because if you are going to flinch the first time people are critical or want you to change your path then it probably means you aren’t really definite about what you are doing," he said in his pre-match news conference.

"It isn't something where I think we are getting too much criticism or unwanted criticism, it is up to us how we behave and respond to it.

"It is kind of where we are at at the moment, until we have success then it is going to be the first thing people come at us about as a club and you have to accept that, it is part of our journey and part of us becoming stronger.

"I have real conviction in what we do. I said to the players, if you want to grow a beautiful garden then you have got to handle some fertiliser, so that is the only way it will happen."

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Micky van de Ven will miss Sunday's game with a "strained hamstring" but it is "not too serious" and he should be available again after the international break.

• Postecoglou added: "He was disappointed, obviously, and he was looking forward to the [Manchester City] game so was a bit emotional, but it's definitely not a bad one like last time, which kept him out for a while."

• On other injury concerns: "The others were [Cristian] Romero and [Timo] Werner, but at the moment they still have a chance for the weekend. Son has trained today. If he gets through training tomorrow, he should be OK."

• On being drawn against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup: "It’s a good draw, in terms of it's a home game which, for all clubs, is welcome because you know it isn't going to be an easy game whoever you play. Being at home for us against a club like United, it will be a really good fixture, but you expect that at the quarter-final or semi-final stage of a competition."

• Postecoglou said "fans are fans" and every fan in the world wants to see their team always playing well, when asked if they should expect up and down results.

• On Spurs' evolution, he continued: "What we have to do before the game and after the game is stay really focused on continuing to evolve into the team we want to be. At the moment in the league we have had some disappointing results, but only really one disappointing performance with the Palace game. It wasn't a great performance and we got what we deserved."

• He added: "What we have to focus on is we continue to learn from that. When we have had disappointments we have bounced back straight away which I think is really important and part of the evolution. It's not going to be a smooth ride but we knew that. We don't want to have too many times when we're not playing the football we want to."

• On Unai Emery since he became Aston Villa manager: "It shouldn't surprise anyone. He was an outstanding manager before. It is another cautionary tale of writing people off. When he was at Arsenal people were a bit dismissive of him, others' memories fade but when you are a manager and you see what another manager goes through, it is firmly imprinted in your mind."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Getafe are eyeing a move for 27-year-old Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon, who is out of contract in June 2025. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

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Tottenham are "not really gaining anything" from Bryan Gil's loan at Girona, with the winger yet to meet "expectations", says La Liga fan and content creator Abhik Deb.

Gil is spending the 2024-25 season on loan with the Spanish club. So far, he has made 11 appearances across all competitions and scored one goal.

"Gil has not really met the expectations of him because he was brought in as a replacement for Savinho, who was Girona's main man last season. He scored nine goals, provided 10 assists, but then moved to Manchester City," said Deb, creator of YouTube channel La Liga Vic.

"Girona really needed someone like Savinho to come in and make that wing their own, but Gil has not put up the sort of numbers, or even performances, that are remotely similar to what Savinho did.

"So far, it has been a 50-50 start."

While Gil has not produced the expected output going forwards, he has shown more promise in another area of the pitch.

"A surprising development with Gil is that he has been more effective at the back," said Deb.

"His defensive statistics are outliers compared to other attacking wingers in the league. If you look at his numbers going forward, that has not really been good, but when he comes back to defend, he's one of the best in his position.

"That is the reason he still has a place in the team."

Despite making 43 appearances for Spurs since his £21m move from Sevilla in 2021, the Spain international has only started four times in the Premier League.

He is now on his third loan spell away from the club and Deb believes he could struggle to get back into the Tottenham side.

"There has not really been anything of note that Spurs fans would look forward to when he returns. Most of them are hoping that he doesn't return and a La Liga club picks him up," added Deb.

"But the season is still long and if Gil can turn things around, and can become the Savinho of this season, he's going to skyrocket.

"Tottenham are not really gaining anything from having him on loan. It's not been the sort of loan where he develops and learns, it is more of a loan to get him off the books."

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Tottenham have lost nine of their last 16 Premier League games (W6 D1), with only Wolves (12) losing more since the first game in this run in April. Spurs had only lost seven of their first 31 games under Ange Postecoglou (W18 D6).

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Tottenham forward Timo Werner spoke about the role that confidence plays in his ability to score goals.

The German striker opened the scoring in Wednesday's Carabao Cup victory against Manchester City - his first goal of the season.

"It was a tough game and to score a goal after tough weeks for me was also very nice, especially to have it at home," Werner said.

"When I saw the goal back, it was way more confident the shot and wanting to score this goal than all the other chances. I have to continue with that.

"Of course when you are a striker and didn't score, you think too much in front of the goal but I never think about not doing the runs to come into this situation.

"I think it would be stupid to stop those runs only because being scared to score. I think at the end, that's what my strengths are and that's why I scored a lot of goals in my career in the past. Exactly from this situation.

"I think when I come back, exactly like I did the goal, I keep on going with this mentality of being more confident in front of goal and I think 'yeah, I can score many more goals'."

Ange Postecoglou faces a continuing struggle to ensure that 'good Tottenham' outweighs 'bad Tottenham', in his quest to end the years without silverware stretching back to 2008.

This was the year Spurs won the League Cup under Juande Ramos, but Postecoglou's assurance that he "always" wins a trophy in his second season means the competition in its current guise of the Carabao Cup assumes greater significance.

And it was the acceptable face of Spurs that beat an under-strength, but still high-quality, Manchester City to reach the last eight of the competition, where they will face Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The conundrum for Postecoglou is finding a solution to the maddening inconsistency that plagues Tottenham in such roller coaster fashion.

Spurs can go from the brilliance of winning 3-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford to conceding a two-goal advantage to lose at Brighton.

They can lose in desperately disappointing fashion at Crystal Palace on Sunday then rise to the occasion against Manchester City on Wednesday.

Postecoglou has a side packed with talent, that is highly entertaining to watch when at its best, but it is accompanied by a vulnerability that ensures watching Spurs is never dull.

This giant club has waited too long for success.

If Postecoglou can find that elusive answer to inconsistency, then the success Tottenham crave may not be too far away.

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Tottenham create so many chances and are an exciting team to watch but they are lacking consistency.

They signed a lot of young players in the summer so I do not know if that is one of the reasons or if their high-risk style of play is contributing as well.

With the way Spurs play they are always going to give up chances to the opposition. The risk of the high line is if you are against a team that are more clinical than you then there is the possibility you will lose.

As a neutral I like the way Ange Postecoglou has them playing, but as a fan I probably would not because it is risky.

There is also the question mark over the back line.

If you look at Micky van de Ven, the majority of his work is recovery defending and along with Cristian Romero, they are not very good at reading the game.

Postecoglou wants them to be the one driving the ball forwards but as a back four they are all front-footed and highly aggressive players. As a unit it does not work and they are quite disconnected.

Their style of play is exposing them defensively.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

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We asked for your views on Wednesday's EFL Cup match between Tottenham and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Tottenham fans

Doug: Great result, I’m chuffed for Werner getting a goal. He had a few other chances and he did better with them so I hope he continues to grow. Hopefully Van de Ven’s injury isn’t a serious one. And when Romero went off we had none of our main centre-backs on and still played well and got the result. Need to continue building as it's a tough game on Sunday at Villa.

Stephen: I thought we played well and had several chances to put the game to bed in the second half. We defended very well and Bentancur and Bissouma were very good together. We must remember this was not Manchester City’s first team but it was ours.

William: Today was like a Spurs win against Manchester City of old - defensively solid and dangerous on the counter attack. I love watching Ange’s fearless style of play, but today showed that sometimes taking a backward step can work and that against teams like City sometimes you have to adapt your style of play based upon the quality of the opposition.

Man City fans

Toqir: They lacked the killer instinct. Pep put on a third XI, there’s no doubt about that. They had a good run around but could have stamped their authority if they’d concluded their chances. It’s a blow to me as a fan. But Pep made his views clear regarding the congestion of matches and fielding an inexperienced team.

John: Despite falling to defeat, it was so encouraging to see so much of the City youth team fit into the Pep way of playing. City's future is looking good, very good.

Jim: I was at the match and worried about the ease Spurs scored the first goal. However we had a good second half and the youngsters did well.

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Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman says Tottenham finished the game off against Manchester City in the opening 30 minutes but Pep Guardiola did not look too disappointed that his side failed to reach the quarter-finals.

"Tottenham's application in the first 30 minutes was where the game was won and lost," said Osman on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast. "City were slow out of the blocks and looked lethargic. I don't think I've seen them give so many passes away at that stage before. They eventually got up to speed for the last hour, and were the team we all know, but Spurs had already given themselves a platform by that point and they inevitably won.

"This game was more important for Tottenham than City and that showed as Guardiola was trying to rest players because they compete in so many competitions each season. But he still doesn't like giving anything up because he likes silverware every season!

"Even when City were chasing the game in the final minutes, Guardiola didn't bring Erling Haaland on and he trusted his young players. I am sure he will be pleased with the level they performed to.

"Spurs just won more battles throughout the game. On another night, Timo Werner could have had three or four goals had he taken his chances."

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Real Madrid will consider a move for Tottenham's Spanish full-back Pedro Porro, 25, if they cannot complete a move for England and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold. (AS - in Spanish), external

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