Premier League team news and prediction: Aston Villa vs Tottenham

Tottenham will seek to put a miserable week behind them and head into the international break on a high when they take on Aston Villa tonight. The Villans may be without talismanic captain Jack Grealish, yet have every right to be confident of exploiting Spurs at Villa Park. 

Ahead of the final Premier League game before the international break, we provide all the key pre-match information, including what time the game kicks off, where to watch the match, team news and probable XIs. 

When is kick off?  

Sunday 21st March, 19:30 GMT  

Where is the match?  

Villa Park, Birmingham 

Where can I watch it?  

Sky Sports Premier League / Sky Sports Main Event 

Form Guide 

A run of one win in their last six has seen Aston Villa drop into mid-table, but they'll move to within on point of Tottenham, with a game in hand, if they can secure a first home win over the north London side since 2008. The Villans have won just one of their last four at home, but they'll fancy their chances of securing all three points against this downtrodden Spurs side. 

Jose Mourinho oversaw a 2-1 loss in the North London Derby last weekend and watched as his side threw away a 2-0 aggregate lead in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb to lose 3-2 on Thursday. After a brief reprieve, Mourinho is under pressure to turn Spurs' fortunes around again, starting with the trip to Villa Park. 

Team News 

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish hasn't trained with the squad and won't feature again until after the international break, which is a huge blow for the Villans. Bertrand Traore and Kortney Hause will be assessed, but only the former would have started if fit, while Wesley is back in training after sustaining a knee injury last January, but he is well short of match fitness after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines. 

Erik Lamela endured a turbulent North London Derby having replaced Son Heung-Min in the first half. The Argentine scored a superb rabona with a little over 10 minutes of the first half to play, but received his marching orders 15 minutes from time and is suspended. Son also misses out, however Giovani Lo Celso made his first appearance since December on Thursday night and his return is a boost. Jose Mourinho has a selection dilemma at right-back, and it may be that Japhet Tanganga is presented with the chance to consolidate a starting spot with Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier both underwhelming of late.

Probable XIs 

Aston Villa (4231) - Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, Nakamba; Traore, McGinn, El Ghazi; Watkins

Tottenham (4231) - Lloris; Tanganga, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Bale, Alli, Moura; Kane

Key Battle: Ezri Konsa vs Eric Dier

Not a key battle per se, but rather one that highlights Gareth Southgate's bizarre decision to pass over Ezri Konsa at the expense of Eric Dier in his latest England squad. Konsa has been superb in an Aston Villa shirt alongside Tyrone Mings this season and in being overlooked this month, the youngster may ponder a switch in allegiance. The Villa star is eligible for Portugal and a partnership of Konsa and Manchester City man Ruben Dias is a tantalising proposition.

Tottenham have won just two of the last 11 league matches Eric Dier has started and having played the full 120 minutes in Croatia on Thursday night, he is unlikely to start here. Dier has been dropped from Spurs' Premier League XI at the expense of Toby Alderweireld of late and it makes Southgate's choice to call up the 27-year-old for international duty this month look all the more baffling.

Score Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham