Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld expects a tough encounter against Aston Villa on Sunday and insists that his side are focused on the game as they look to bounce back from Thursday night’s 3-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League.
Dortmund's top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opener for Thomas Tuchel’s side in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash against a Spurs side bereft of a number of first team players who were rested for the game.
Germany attacking midfielder Marco Reus put in a sublime performance to net a second-half brace to help his side register an important 3-0 win over the north London outfit.
Alderweireld admitted that everyone in the dressing room was disappointed with the result, but expressed his relief that they have a game within four days to help them bounce back from the defeat.
The Belgian international acknowledged that everyone expects Spurs to win against Villa on Sunday, but believes that it will be a very tough encounter and Mauricio Pochettino’s side will have to be at their best to beat the bottom-placed team.
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Speaking in an interview with Spurs TV, Alderweireld said: "Everybody is disappointed, of course, and think it will take a couple of days [to recover], but the focus is just on Sunday and it’s nice to have a game that quick to change some things.
“Everybody will expect that we will win, but it will be a very tough game, so we have to be at the top to beat them and we really need to concentrate and play on a high level because it’s going to be difficult.”
Aston Villa currently find themselves at the bottom of the Premier League table with 16 points from 29 games.
The Villa Park outfit are certain to be relegated unless they mount an improbable run of victories in the remaining nine matches of the season, which starts with Spurs at the weekend.
