Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate Team for FIFA 14.

PPI-Logo

Aston Villa will be desperate to kick-start their season this weekend after suffering five defeats on the bounce. Villa will look to emulate their good start to the season, which saw them lie in second place four games into the season.

The key to their early season success was a solid defence, which saw them concede just one goal in four games. Villa’s Dutch international Ron Vlaar will be crucial to this, as illustrated by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The World Cup semi finalist has won 100% of his tackles so far this season, made 30 clearances, made six interceptions and made five blocks.

In front of the back four, Carlos Sanchez has a vital role to play in midfield, sweeping up anything before it gets to the defence. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that the Colombian has won 84.61% of his tackles so far this campaign. He has also hit the target with 100% of his shots and will also be hoping to contribute to Villa’s offensive game this weekend.

Up front, Villa are in desperate need of goals, having failed to score in their five consecutive defeats, only managing four goals in the league so far; the lowest tally in the Premier League. Both Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor have nettwe twice this season and will be looking to increase those tallies this weekend. Weimann has scored with 40% of his shots taken this season, and will be a threat if he can get his shots away on the weekend. He is 17/5 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

Tottenham find themselves in a mid-table position going into the weekend, and will be looking to get back on track after two straight defeats have seen their assault on the summit of the table be halted. With a plethora of talent at their disposition, Tottenham will be looking to return from the Midlands with all three points on Sunday evening.

Spurs will be looking to improve on both their attacking and defensive records, but one player that cannot receive blame is Hugo Lloris. According to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the French national team captain is the number one ranked goalkeeper in the Premier League. The Spurs shot stopper has made the fourth most saves in the Premier League this season, having come to the rescue 29 times. He will be looking for his fourth clean sheet of the season on Sunday.

Defensively, Younes Kaboul has been a stalwart in defense for Tottenham so far this term according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The French defender has made thirty interceptions, the second highest tally in the Premier League. Spurs can also attack from the back, in particular Danny Rose, who has completed eight crosses this season; the seventh highest amount completed in the Premier League.

In the middle of the park, Erik Lamela has certainly found his feet in English football. The Argentinian star has showed his creative side by completing 26 dribbles, the third most in the Premier League, and by assisting three goals according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance.

When you add in Nacer Chadli’s four goals and an assist, Tottenham look like a real threat, and one that could beat any side on their day. He has also won 71.72% of his tackles according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, and his hard work is also reflected in his five clearances and seven interceptions. He is 13/4 to score anytime with 888sport.com.

Comments 69

  1. Hello AVL.

    Let’s hope Villa aren’t enbarrassesed at home today, which wouldn’t be surprising. Maybe, they’ll show some pride, grit and enough resilience to get a result, can’t go on losing. Probably lose today, though.

  2. hello matt,
    expectations about this game nil. after the qpr debacle I fail to see how we will score, maybe benteke will spark into life and cole will make his first start. whichever way Lambert goes without senderos and hutton we will concede against a potent spurs attack and struggle to score against a poor spurs defence. please prove me wrong villa.

    I had a look at wiki this morning after Paul P had wondered if things would be different if we had kept Mcleish. to be honest he broke plenty of negative records and all this with a much more experienced squad, played defensively with players totally out of position. his signings flopped bar Givens and he spent £16m and brought in £37m from downing and young several were released on frees and he oversaw the Makoun debacle and delph loaned out and we posted 38 points for the first timer in prem history. it was the season the cost cutting started in earnest. best rid I think

  3. i know we are all fffff ed off with the recent games and lack of goals,,, i feel a bit sorry for lambert as the fixture list did him no favours,,, i said that the run of five games against the top 5 from last season could leave us with little confidence, i just hoped we could see enough improvement in performances to give us hope,,,
    and to be honest there were patches of play that gave me a bit of hope, but the problem was converting chances or making them,,

    as lambert wants to play benteke back to fitness and refuses to play to bents strengths and plays weinman out of position i cant see much improvement
    but its not just up front we are not getting goals , its midfield and defence,,

    no one is scoring,,, and that is why we are in trouble and all the early confidence has gone
    along with injuries to key players its fair to say we have had little luck

    but spurs will put us under pressure so leaving them open to counter attack,,, so we have a chance if the forwards turn up
    but no doubt someone will get sent off and vlaar will get injured again and we will miss 3 easy chances etc,,, and give away a pen or something like that

  4. Usual story for me – no hope for the few days leading up to the game but am now allowing some foolish optimism.

    Just saw the team sheet and am hopeful it’s a 4-3-1-2. Narrow but more attacking.

    Guzan
    Lowton Vlaar Baker Cissoko
    Westwood Sanchez Cleverly
    N’Zogbia
    Benteke Weimann

    Hate to see us losing but am hopeful we do something useful today.

  5. The thing is, Lamberts right with one thing, we did have a hard run of games but:

    A/ why do so many other teams show so much more fight than us, even when they go a goal down? Our capitulations this season have been nothing short of embarrassing…

    B/ What happened against QPR?

    The only way for this club to move forward is to get rid of Lambert ASAP. Why do I say this? Well no just the negative results expected.. BUT we stil make the same mistakes and errors as we dos 4 years ago and to me that’s either bad management or staggering ignorance from Lambert.. Both of which should lead to automatic dismissal!!

    And don’t get me started on Lerners stupidity to give him a long term contract on the back of 3 decent results!!

  6. our problem apart from no goals is our squad is paper thin. also the fact nobodies worked out Lowton is no fullback but can cross! erm he’s a midfielder/winger

  7. Glad to see Zoggy given a creative role.
    As everyone knows a healthy Benteke does make a big difference.
    Sanchez looks good.
    Long way to go and there’s a lot of quality in the Spurs squad so not counting chickens yet…
    UTV

  8. Well on the positive side Sanchez looks half decent and Benteke looks slightly sharper. Lowton appears to have forgotten how to cross though.

    Maybe Gabby is upset as he isn’t playing. Just a thought.

  9. superbox- lowtons crosses are a bit flat but at least they are aimed at someone. I’m amazed, spurs must be the only team who don’t know n’zogbia can’t cross with his right foot. hope tekkers gets a goal will make all the difference to him and nows the time spurs are shocking at the back only marginally better than a lowton weimann defensive combo 🙂

  10. Mark. – Spurs have looked very poor for the money they have spent, they look like a team of strangers.

    This red car isn’t going to help, and it sure wasn’t a red for CB only, Lamella should have gone for leaning his head in. Not that either was a read in my opinion.

  11. Tottenham were bloody awful today… talk about 3 points lost, will we hang on for one now.
    God it’s frustrating being a Villa supporter. Lambert actually got a lot right today surprisingly so there is a glimmer of hope.

  12. Perhaps a blessing in disguise if it expedites Lambert’s dismissal. Not much to get excited about and when things look promising our best player disappears for 3 matches. Oh Lord!!!

  13. maybe james but spurs were rattled and were getting nowhere, worst spurs team in years, benteke handed them the advantage for what his pride? he clattered a player and the bloke who was half his size didn’t like it, you have to have some discipline. that said spurs got a lot of help from the ref and our lot played into his hands

  14. If ever there was a perfect time to introduce Grealish it was in the 2nd half of that match for at least 30 mins. Spurs were piss poor defensively and totally disjointed offensively he could have run at their fullbacks all day. Very good pick managers their moments and make inspired decisions. Lambert doesn’t have the imagination nor perhaps balls to introduce a young player who could really impact a match. What must the young player be thinking… he’s supposed to be our future. God knows noone else in the academy is even close to being ready for the Prem.

  15. There is no end to this torture,we are incapable of drawing,let alone winning.Young and cheap was a failure,experience and older is a failure.tactics,selections,set pieces,a failure,McLeish,a failure,Houllier too ill to work a failure,Lambert a failure.The common denominator is Lerner.Mr Lerner and Fox can you not see this???????????????????????????.4 more fuggin years of this,absolute torture.Negative tactics,mentality and signings.The dismissal will save his bacon,for another week,in fact he`ll probably get a new 10 year contract tomorrow.Rollocks to em all.

  16. It’s incredibly tough supporting the Villa.

    After emotional kickings like this – it’s hard to see when there’ll be a day when it’s all worth it.

    Awful first goal to give away – oceans of space. Unlucky for the deflected free kick but we we’re trying to hang on.

    A better performance but still, any time anyone needs a result, they get it at Villa.

    I hate this. I hate this so fucking much.

  17. looking at the incident we could appeal as he was provoked but he should of just laughed in Masons face not slap it.

    ronnie- can’t argue with that grealish would of been a good option

  18. Agree Tony H but althought this may sound harsh,we got what we deserved……nowt.OK,ok,the 10 man issue,so what?IVilla just had one thing on their minds after that which was to defend,now look,I don`t expect them to go gung ho for a second but you still must offer a threat up front.I agree with RB Grealish may have provided this and kept the shaky Spurs back line concerned.However we will never know,because Lerner is either too unimaginative or gutless to bring on Grealish.We never do things by halves do we?A draw would have been respectable,but no,we have to lose at home again.
    As Mark says Benteke gave Spurs the advantage,but Lambert`s reaction was too cautious,negative and predictable.
    Why don`t we just cease to exist then at least we could not have to endure this slow,painful death.As SWV says R.I.P. AVFC.

  19. Spurs brought creativity on to change the game,we took Creativity CNZ and our goalscorer off.Work that one out please,I can`t.When it`s 11 v 10 you must keep the ball ask any coach at u10 level.you don`t just hide behind the half way line.6 on the bounce,and many more to come.
    RIP AVFC.

  20. brazil- in football terms we don’t exist, even souness said we put in a lot of effort but lack quality in certain areas, not sure another manager would give that to these players they just haven’t got it. yes Lamberts negative but the players he’s working with are not great. N’zogbia’s 1st touch is awful that goes for most. he’s chosen to go down the counter attack route because of the level we shop at, he’s taken what he thought was our assets pace and workrate and added to it, quality costs. an example of the level we are at was Baker taking a free kick which he hoofed clear into their box where not even their defenders were, the lads brave but has nothing between his ears, we have too many like that.

  21. That was the worst spurs side I have seen and we still could not beat them yes the sending off didn’t help but we still could have beaten them with ten men absolutely shocking.
    When will we win a game god only knows even burnley will fancy it against us, Lambert needs to go and take Keane with you.
    AVFC RIP

  22. Mark.yes the playersare limited,yes we shop in a cheap and cheerful bargain basement,but to compensate for this you must be organised and tight at the back.In other words be hard to beat,we are a pushover,and have been for years.My Spurs mate asked me how to win at VP,I just told him all Spurs need to do is turn up and they will win.Change the stadium name to 3 Point Park,it would be more appropiate.West ham next,if this continues we will be adrift in the bottom 3 and too far behind to be saved.

  23. @TheBettingBar: Aston Villa’s form since Paul Lambert signed his new contract

    Played 6
    Won 0
    Drawn 0
    Lost 6
    Scored 1
    Conceded 15 http://t.co/aJKQE1ZBBU

    Time for change . 2 points off the relegation zone and Benteke out for 3 games . But the classic “we were excellent” from Paul Lambert .

  24. brazil- I agree mate, senderos would be a good shout for manager as he is the only player we have who can organise, sanchez tried, Vlaar waves his arms about but ultimately tries to be everywhere. If senderos and hutton had played we I think we would of won, and thats the problem we have no replacements for them. can’t wait to see what senderos makes of lowtons defending 🙂
    we should of started a ruck on the bench and punched harry kane out he was the difference

  25. we had one shot on target where are the players that lambert said the goals where in dont blame benteke would any other striker want to play for lambert gabby comes on running through on goals puts on brakes hides as usual then lets his man walk away from him at corner when you come back mark the player cleverly useless at 1m never mind 8 where is okore giroud broke his leg for arsenal start season be back end nov kozak breaks jan not be back to next jan lambert out

  26. james gill- a fair result would of been no points each.

    Jen- giving Lambert a new contract before we went into the hardest run of games of the season just shows what an Idiot owns the club. my fear is we may get pullis and we might not like what we see, palace were put together by an attacking manager so pullis added a bit of steel and they played well, what’s he going to do with our lot ?

  27. Excuses excuses Mark . He’s wasted money , he hasn’t progressed the players we have and has broken all negative records . ” Could of should of doesn’t win games” and are the excuses of losers : which we have become so comfortable with that we can lose a game and still be “excellent “.

  28. Pullis would be better than leaving Lambert in charge – and Keane can get back to his book tour. As the pundit said when Lambert was writing notes “maybe he is Roy Keane’s next ghost writer “. We are a joke . I would put Pullis in as a short term trouble shooter until the end if the season . I wouldn’t want him long term but he would be an improvement on the current circus show .

  29. Palace were on their knees – no one believed they would escape the drop. What Pullis did was remarkable – he didn’t just add “a bit of steel” Mark. He transformed a very poor team.

  30. I don’t know how much longer this can carry on, although according to Tom ( bluenose cunt) Ross, Lamberts job is rock solid safe, having spoke with the club this week they are happy with his vision and efforts nod how things are going!! If true I give up.
    Today was marginally better, but our full backs invite pressure and have idea positionally ( cissokho is awful full stop).
    Tekkers was stupid for reacting , but we Still threw it away. Awful officiating, crap attendance awful weather awful owner/manager we are going down

  31. Very disappointing. Even with 10 men you should get something out of the game if you’re winning with 7 minutes left but once they equalised I knew we’d find a way to lose.

    Both goals were shocking from our point of view. Multiple players at fault for the equaliser and Guzan could have come for the corner. The winner was a joke, Westwood couldn’t get the ball clear under minimal pressure which led to a cheap free kick which led to the predictable Baker disaster.

  32. To echo what B62 said Fox has been briefing journalists all week saying Lambert is staying for the duration. So he clearly knows f*** all about football just like his boss.

  33. jen- palace were good going forward and crap at the back and midfield defensively, so he did add some steel and organisation, which allowed their forwards to do there stuff. if he is truly that good surely a better team would of come in to get the pullis makeover. He was at Stoke for years and produced a physical side, nothing wrong with that but it shows what he leans to when he’s buying the players, at palace they were already there, that’s all i’m saying.
    As I said earlier I don’t think a lot of them can be progressed, we have a poor conversion rate from reserve to 1st team before Lambert got here. some players take years to mature, your rooneys and barkleys seem ready made, theres no substitute for real talent. maybe our youth policies need to be looked at.
    don’t get me wrong Lambert deserves the push

  34. Yes James

    He will be the 1st manager of AV to see us relegated from the EPL.Easy,comfortable 2 nil for West Ham.

    Vlaar appears to be bulletproof onAVL.When he does play he is as guity as the rest and has played,well.appeared in some heavy defeats,he is injury prone and misses games in bunches.He is due another spell out.

    The squad isn`t strong enough I read-well-who picks and buys the players.Why sign Cole and not use him?

  35. Thought it was two very poor teams having a friendly.
    The fourth official is a cheat, is he saying that he saw CB give Mason a blind side facial but never saw the little tw@ give CB a nut ? Chadlie who ironically scored the equaliser shouldn’t have been on the pitch after a leg breaker on Westwood.
    Very funny panel tonight, two ex Spuds and another crap player who played in Norf Laaanden so obviously Kane won MotM for his fifteen minutes and a claim for the og, they didn’t even mention Villa after the game that’s how far we’ve slipped of the media radar.
    If Lambert fulfils his contract and Lerner stays then we should be nicely ensconced in the lower reaches of the Championship, we won’t come straight back with this team we’ll be like the Sheffield clubs … and we deserve it.
    On the game, Lowton is a pathetic defender, a liability, thought Baker did well, crepe mf, and CB played well through the middle up front, pathetic sub with Bent on for four minutes. Lambert sent them out to hold the 1-0, he just won’t go for it. Keane looks as though he’s due some Winter sun and will be off soon unless Lambert is booted.
    All in all same old shite.

  36. When we do drop Lerner can’t say he wasn’t warned, after SIX years we still don’t have anyone who knows anything at all about the game in admin. They say that they value your support, do the fuck, your only use is to make the stadium look full for TV, they don’t give a flying fuck about you, i’d say 90% want Lambert out, unanimous amongst my crew, but because he likes him Lerner will watch the club die a slow death, i hope he realises he’s reducing Daddies $$$ even more by the season.

  37. Agree Steamer

    At least we now know we are going down from an early point in the campaign.It won`t be a nail biting last fixture of the season,this bunch of dirge will all be looking for new clubs come Jan.I am sure the are no wage reduction clauses in their contracts when ae start in the Championship.so all the top earners will be off for low fees or frees.
    I thought the bottom of the barrel had been scraped with Ellis,but muck fee Lerner is a living breathing disaster.

  38. We just keep on losing

    Worst run for 45 years. Well done Berk. Twat

    Couldn’t see what the beast did at the time, just saw the mass brawl up. Pretty sure Vertongan should have gone though for his tackle. Again though, haven’t seen it back yet. Just got back in from Hell, I mean Villa Park

    Front 3 were the positives. We will miss the beast though, looked good today

    We will make it 7 straight defeats against west ham, 8 against The Saints

  39. But the Berk still hasn’t learned anything. Just throws Bent on when we need a goal like Bradford.

    Jack Grealish

    Anyway, the Berk is the worlds luckiest man. The red card will deflect from his 6 defeats in a row

  40. B6B,
    Yes mate, i thought Herbs was a devious, conniving, self centred egotistical bastard but Lerner makes him look saintly, mind you Herbs bought Lerner to the club so i suppose they’re as bad as one another, i loathe and detest both of them.

  41. Oh, don’t that team give you the Claret and Blues!

    Early on and through a lot of the first half, Villa had Spurs on the back foot. Spurs were also uncertain in defence and Villa’s profligacy again gave the game to the opposition. While Benteke was sooooo unlucky with his shot that hit the post, he did miss a couple of glaring chances.

    And then he got sent off. So should the other feller as well, but the ref wasn’t giving much Villa’s way.

    Villa looked sharper without Gabby, I have to say, but whether any of the opposition will be so kindly to Villa while CB is in jankers for the next 3 matches is open to doubt. It could be 9 defeats on the trot if we don’t watch it.

    Despite Villa looking brighter today (partic. first half) I think the cumulative record against Lambert speaks loudly against him. But I doubt that Lerner will get rid – until it’s too late.

  42. What really makes me angry( besides the usual) is the fact Lambert gets a free pass from the media, the bloke is clueless in every department. Apathy reigns, the crowds are dwindling, I’m embarrassed at being a Villa fan, we are a joke of a club and deserve to go down. The only positive was I didn’t get soaked as it stopped as I parked up !

  43. That`s a sensible summary John.
    When you are down to 10 men you must retain the ball.Easier said than done though,we can`t keep the ball with 11 on the field.The red card will deflect media attention away from the 6 defeats on the bounce.

    I agree Lerner will pull the trigger when it is too late.

  44. I remember JL’s anecdote about the Lerner jobsworth who stated that “we don’t need any help to run a football club.” We are the worst run club in the entire league, Fox is Chubby Mk 2, get rid of the entire lot.

  45. The 4213 system was a nice change today. No more 451 bull shit, or 433

    Zoggy looked good behind the beast. Wiemann first ever time I’ve been impressed with him on the right although he played narrower and let Lowton hold the width. Cleverley is useless on the left though

  46. Frem

    When CB went we took our creativity off-CNZ-and Spurs brought theirs on.Mentally weak Villa,as soon as he walked I knew Spurs would win,so did Spurs.We just crumble in the face of adversity.When the going gets tough we have all the resilience of a fuggin jelly.Bottle,guts and a will to win can nick a win or draw in these circumstances,but we are spineless,from the boardroom to the bench.

Leave a Reply