The pick of the FA Cup Fourth Round ties comes at Villa Park on Sunday evening with Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur.
Both sides will have gone into this season with hopes of ending lengthy trophy droughts and the FA Cup remains an avenue to realise that for now, but only one can go on to the next round and Peter Crouch has given us his prediction for Sunday’s tie.
And remember Paddy’s Super Sub offer means your bet rolls on even if your player selection gets taken off early…
Aston Villa v Tottenham Bet Builder
Both teams to score: Yes
Son Heung-min to have 2+ shots
Son Heung-min to be fouled 1+ times
Ollie Watkins to score
Morgan Rogers to have 1+ shots on target
A bet builder with these selections pays at approximately 9/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP
WHEN: Sunday, February 9, 5:35pm
WHERE: Villa Park, Birmingham
TV: BBC One
Villa were never going to lose both Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran in January, were they? Even if Arsenal threw in a cheeky bid that was never going to happen.
Losing one of them though was a bit of a blow and they had to go out and address it.
They’ve got a few more forwards in, including Marcus Rashford. It’s a move that work for everyone involved I think.
If Villa can get the Marcus Rashford that we know he can be then they’ve got a great player on their hands, but it’s up to him now.
He could be a huge asset. Obviously Unai Emery believes in him or he wouldn’t have signed him, and it’s a good situation at a club where he could turn things around.
It’s a big chance for him if he can produce.
And they’ve added more depth with the signings of Donyell Malen, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi, which means they could mix things up a bit on Sunday and rest a few players. It makes the game tough to call.
Tottenham don’t really have the luxury of rotating their side at the moment with all their injuries. But if they go and lose to Villa after losing heavily to Liverpool on Thursday night, they are only really clinging on to the Europa League for any kind of hope this season, and that’s a difficult one to win.
Both teams to score: Yes
If Villa put out their full-strength side, you’d probably expect them to win, but it’s not exactly clear who’ll start, which makes it a tough tie to call.
I predicted a draw on my podcast this week, though I could see Villa getting through in the end as there’s no replay. One thing I would expect is a few goals, so both teams to score looks a sold pick.
Both of these clubs are without a trophy for quite a while now. they are two very big clubs but haven’t had the silverware to go with it.
Villa have made the Champions League and look to be on the up but they could do with a trophy as much as Spurs to prove themselves, so a cup run would be important for them.
Spurs have lost their chance in the Carabao Cup at ending that trophyless run. I thought Djed Spence did well at Anfield, the new centre-half Kevin Danso acquitted himself quite well, all things considered, but they didn’t have a sniff as Liverpool were just far too good.
I don’t really think you can judge Tottenham based on that performance. Liverpool at home at the moment with the crowd up, it just makes it very tough to read too much into it.
I expect Spurs to be better at Villa on Sunday.
Son Heung-min to have 2+ shots
Son Heung-min to be fouled 1+ times
It was a disappointing night on Thursday but Son hit the bar at Anfield and is probably still the most likely to score for Spurs on Sunday.
I covered the Europa League game last week and he looked unplayable, albeit against Elfsborg. With Solanke out and the new signing, Mathys Tel, still finding his feet I’d look at the Spurs captain to lead their attack by example at Villa Park.
He should have a few shots at least and Villa will most likely foul him at least once too.
Ollie Watkins to score
Even with the new arrivals, and despite Arsenal’s interest, Ollie Watkins remains Villa’s clearest goal threat.
I’m also not sure if Rashford will start yet. He would be another option if he does go straight into the team, but I’ll take Watkins for a goalscorer bet on Sunday.
Morgan Rogers to have 1+ shots on target
We’ve all seen how good Morgan Rogers is recently. He got his hat-trick against Celtic and Spurs will have a tough job containing him. He should be a good shout for a shot on target if not more.
Peter Crouch’s Villa v Spurs Bet Builder
Both teams to score: Yes
Son Heung-min to have 2+ shots
Son Heung-min to be fouled 1+ times
Ollie Watkins to score
Morgan Rogers to have 1+ shots on target
A bet builder with these selections pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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