Tottenham Hotspur-Aston Villa Preview

Posted Saturday, May 05, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Now that Harry Redknapp doesn't have any summer plans with the England national team, perhaps Tottenham Hotspur can finally go about the business of trying to claim a Champions League spot undistracted.

Spurs seek a third consecutive win and a strengthening of their top-four position in the Premier League on Sunday at Aston Villa, who are desperate for points to ensure avoiding the drop.

The seemingly endless and protracted coaching search for Fabio Capello's successor for the national team ended Tuesday with Redknapp - at one point an unrivalled frontrunner for the position - losing out to Roy Hodgson as the latter signed a four-year deal to lead England to the European Championship this summer and perhaps the 2014 World Cup.

When Hodgson emerged as the leading candidate, Redknapp offered nothing but support for the former Liverpool manager Monday, saying, "I don't hold grudges, I don't feel like that. There's no problem. If Roy takes the job I wish him all the best. He's a great guy. I'm sure he'll be a big success. I still think England's got some great players, I really do.''

Perhaps being bypassed for the job often dubbed "a poisoned chalice" finally took the weight of the world off his players, who put together a splendid final 45 minutes in rolling 4-1 past Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday. Rafael van der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor combined for three goals in a nine-minute span of the second half for Spurs (19-8-9), who are ahead of Newcastle United on goal differential for the fourth and final Champions League spot and one point behind Arsenal in the table for third - which carries direct entry into the prestigious European club tournament.

"Anything can happen still, it is all to play for," said Redknapp, whose team's final fixture is at home against Fulham. "We have got to try and win the last two games and see where it takes us. We have still got to get fourth, never mind third."

Adebayor, who has a team-best 15 goals in league play, had a brace in the reverse fixture in Spurs' 2-0 home win Nov. 21, and has five goals and four assists in seven lifetime matches against Villa with Tottenham.

As Spurs hunt European play for next season, Villa (7-16-13) are simply scraping to make sure they stay in the top flight. With 37 points, they are only three points clear of the drop despite having the best goal differential among the relegation candidates and had their winless spell extended to eight matches (0-4-4) following a scoreless draw at West Brom on Saturday.

Manager Alex McLeish's side are winless in their last four at Villa Park (0-2-2) and have one victory in their last 14 league matches (1-7-6). Additionally, the Villains have only one goal from their last four matches overall and goalkeeper Shay Given knows there's a lot on the line in this match for the side and his manager.

"Every manager in the Premier League's job is on the line but obviously we're under a bit of pressure and Alex is under a bit of pressure," the Ireland international said. "But we have got take responsibility ourselves, players and staff alike."

Villa are winless in their last six league matches versus Spurs (0-2-4) since a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane on Sept. 15, 2008. Tottenham are 2-1-0 in their last three at Villa Park dating to a 2-1 defeat on New Year's Day in 2008.