Tottenham Hotspur's next stop in their quest to avoid relegation takes them to Villa Park, to face high-flying Aston Villa in a crunch Premier League clash.
Last weekend, Spurs secured their first Premier League win of 2026, winning 1-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. That was a big win, because it kept Spurs in the hunt, as West Ham United had also beaten Everton. As it stands, Spurs are two points behind West Ham, with four games left to play.
Villa, on the other hand, will have to balance their commitments in the Europa League, where they lost 1-0 in the semifinal first leg to Nottingham Forest on Thursday evening. Villa can't afford to take their focus off the Premier League though. Even though they are in a great position to finish in the Champions League spots for next season, they aren't mathematically safe yet.
Here's everything you need to know about the fixture:
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, NBC in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live coverage here.
Key Details
Kick-off time: Sunday, May 3, at 7:00 p.m. BST (2:00 p.m. ET; 11:30 p.m. IST; and 4:00 a.m. AEST, Mondat).
Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Tony Harrington
Team news
Aston Villa
Amadou Onana, M: calf, DOUBT
Boubacar Kamara, M: knee, OUT
Tottenham Hotspur
Guglielmo Vicario, G: groin, OUT
Ben Davies, D: ankle, OUT
Cristian Romero, D: knee, OUT
Destiny Udogie, D: strain, DOUBT
Dejan Kulusevski, M: knee, OUT
Pape Matar Sarr, M: shoulder, DOUBT
Xavi Simons, M: knee, OUT
Dominic Solanke, F: muscle, OUT
Mohammed Kudus, F: muscle, OUT
Wilson Odobert, F: knee, OUT
Talking Points
Spurs' injuries keep mounting
In addition to the injuries that Spurs already had, they will now miss Xavi Simons for an extended period of time, and oculd likely miss Dominic Solanke as well. They were already without captain Cristian Romero, forwards Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and creative sparks Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.
Those injuries have already made this a torturous season for Spurs. Roberto de Zerbi will have to use all his nous to use the fairly scant resources available to him and try and pull Spurs out of the mire they find themselves in.
Villa's balancing act
If Aston Villa win on Sunday, that will put them two points away form mathematically confirming their spot in next season's UEFA Champions League. It will be a superb achievement for Unai Emery's side, who have spent a bulk of this season in the top four, after a bit of an iffy start.
A win in this game will also mean that Villa can tangibly focus their resources towards winning this season's Europa League, a tournament where they will have to do it the hard way to make the final, but at
Can Spurs build on win at Wolves?
Spurs need wins. There are no two ways about that. Their fixture list in this run-in isn't particularly kind to them, with home games against Leeds United and Everton, and a trip to Chelsea to follow after this game.
While their performance against Wolves wasn't much to write home about, the confidence that the result could bring for them shouldn't be underestimated. That winner from João Palhinha to give them a 1-0 win at Molineux should be used as a catalyst now to bring them a result that sees them survive the drop by the skin of their teeth.
Another reason why Spurs will have to get results is that those around him haven't dropped off by any stretch. West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds have all gone on decent runs of form recently, and that has put de Zerbi's men in real trouble. Can they wriggle themselves out of it?
Villa's inconsistency has come at the wrong time
At the business end of the season, Villa just haven't been able to put a run of results together. Last week in the Premier League, they lost 1-0 to Fulham, and followed that up with that 1-0 loss to Forest in the Europa League. They've lost momentum at an inopportune time, and will want to make amends, starting with this game.
They've got only two league games left at Villa Park this season, and that is an opportunity for Villa to put the exclamation mark on what has been a positive season for them. Should they manage to do that and secure Champions League qualification from the league and also make the Europa League final, a positive season will turn into an excellent one, and that will be the aim for Unai Emery's men.