15 minutes: McGinn fouled by Bentancur; that wakes the crowd from their sleep for a moment.

14 minutes: We are treading dangerously into the territory of an intriguing tactical battle here. This was mostly terrible.

13 minutes: Porro is fouled and Tottenham get a free kick in a dangerous position. Who will it hit? Son sends it, Solanke goes there.

10 minutes: Villa patient again, trying to tempt Tottenham’s defense. And it doesn’t really work.

8 minutes: Lots of zip, not much quality. Son seems to be pinned down on the left flank. Bentancur tries to find Son, but the skipper misreads the ball.

7 minutes: Porro feels like digging as the ball bounces to him. His shot ends up in the stands. Worth a try? Probably not.

6 minutes: Kulusevski is robbed by a combination of Cash and McGinn, but the Spurs remain on the attack.

4 minutes: Near! Tieleman’s ball over goal, Watkins cannot get there, mainly thanks to Dragusin’s heavy breathing. Then Udogie catches Cash with a high foul.

3 minutes: Villa go on the attack and McGinn sets up Rogers, whose shot is poor and miles wide.

2 minutes: Villa is always willing to be patient. Sarr is chased and robbed, but the ball is back to Spurs before Son is tackled by Matty Cash.

Off we go to the Tottenham Stadium

Male hug and joking laughter between Ange and Unai, two football men and true.

The teams are in the tunnel, the PA system is at full blast and the players enter the field.

A quick word about James Maddison’s deleted word from Ange: “It’s exactly what we need today. But there is no doubt that Madders will perform today.”

Unai Emery spoke to Sky: “My first message that I send to everyone is: ‘I want to keep raising our level’. I dream and I want to work to make my dreams come true.

“My dream is to achieve the best possible at the club where I now work and the objectives we have. To play in Europe, to play in the Champions League – my dream is to become a winner in the Champions League as a coach. Hopefully with Aston Villa.

“The Premier League is very difficult to win because there are three teams that are consistent at the moment: Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. But here Leicester won and when Leicester won the Premier League it was very difficult and perhaps even impossible. This is why it is not impossible in football. You can dream and you can work hard to try to achieve it.

Tottenham full-back Destiny Udogie spoke to Sky: “When you win, it always changes the atmosphere in the dressing room and gives you confidence. We are happy with that win (against Man City) and are focusing on today’s match.

“Van de Ven is a big loss for us, but we are all together as a team. Villa are honestly a great team. We are ready to give our best and hopefully we will win.”

Villa skipper John McGinn spoke to Sky: “We have a good recent record in London. It feels good to be here again, but in the last few wins here we have had to work for it. They probably deserved to win a few times, so we have to be ready today.

“To get the three points we have to work and run. Tottenham makes you run a lot, so we are ready for that. Spurs are not an easy team to play against. They have had their ups and downs for most of the competition this season, but they bring a big threat.

“From our point of view, we are very happy that Van de Ven is missing. We have to be at our best, it is a team that will be fighting at the top of the table at the end of the season.”

Spurs will be full of cheers after their midweek defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup

Ange makes four changes from the team that lost at Crystal Palace last week, with Son returning and James Maddison dropped to the bench. Micky van de Ven misses out with his hamstring injury when Radu Dragusin comes on. Pape Sarr stands for Yves Bissouma and partners Rodrigo Bentancur. Mikey Moore is on the bench and let’s hope he comes off the bench. Last week in Selhurst was no fun for the youngster.

Unai Emery opts for Jhon Duran’s orthodoxy on the benchand Ollie Watkins starts.

The starting teams

Injury list and form guide:

Tottenham

• Doubtful Romero (muscle), Son (muscle), Spence (groin), Werner (groin)

• Injured Odobert (hamstring, unknown), Van de Ven (hamstring, Nov 23)

• Suspended No

• Form LWWLWL

• Top scorer Johnson, son 3

Aston Villa

Preamble