"It will just be interesting" – Mark Lawrenson makes interesting prediction for Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa

Liverpool great Mark Lawrenson has offered his prediction for Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League home clash against Aston Villa, claiming that Sunday's contest will end up being a 1-1 draw.

Spurs, who finished a point behind Aston Villa at eighth spot in the Premier League last campaign, are fourth in the 2023-24 table with 26 points from 12 outings. They will be keen to register a win after losing back-to-back games against Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, have opened their season on a fine note, recording 13 wins in 19 matches across all competitions so far. They are currently fifth in the Premier League standings with 25 points from 12 outings, most recently defeating Fulham earlier this month.

In his column for British bookmaking website Paddy Power, Lawrenson shared his thoughts on Tottenham's upcoming league encounter against Unai Emery's outfit. He wrote:

"Tottenham have lost two on the trot while Aston Villa won easily against Fulham. I fancy another draw here, it will just be interesting to see what shape Spurs are in. They had that really good start but now have players missing and they conceded so late in that last game at Wolves but Villa are not great away from home."

Ange Postecoglou's team, who lost both of their league matches against Villa past season, are likely to miss a number of key players this weekend. James Maddison, Richarlison, Micky van de Ven, Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon are all recovering from their respective injuries, while both Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma are suspended.

Spurs, however, relish an excellent head-to-head record, registering 18 wins, three draws and four losses in their last 25 games against Villa.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou gives positive update on midfielder's fitness

During a pre-match press conference, Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou was asked to shed light on Rodrigo Bentancur's fitness ahead of Sunday's contest. He replied (h/t football.london):

"He's fine. He trained this morning. He was really keen to get back into the international team setup, and obviously keen to get back with us as well. But he missed a lot with the national team and he feels, like most players, really proud of representing his country. The fact he got an opportunity to start is good for us."

Bentancur, 26, represented Uruguay in the recent international break after a gap of over nine months due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. After making a cameo appearance in a 2-0 win over Argentina, he started his national team's 3-0 win over Bolivia earlier this week.

So far this term, Bentancur has made three substitute appearances for Tottenham. He could make his first start of the season against Villa.