Former Premier League star Michael Brown believes that Aston Villa will be confident heading into the weekend’s game against Tottenham Hotspur as they know how to frustrate the Londoners.
The Villans and the Lilywhites, both vying for a place in the top four, will meet each other in an all-important fixture on Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will get more time to prepare for the match as they do not have a midweek game to deal with.
Despite the Aston Villa players’ fatigue, Brown believes that Unai Emery’s side will head into the game with more confidence given their ability to sit and delay when they are under pressure.
Stressing the importance of the match inside Villa Park, Brown told the BBC: “The Premier League match against Tottenham on Sunday is right up there as potentially top-four deciding – it could be a sensational game.
“The fact that Tottenham do not have a game in midweek does make it advantage Spurs, but Villa have a little more knowhow when they are out of possession.”
Citing examples from Aston Villa’s games against Manchester City and Arsenal, Brown insisted: “We saw against Manchester City and Arsenal that they can sit and delay.
“They are able to do that when under pressure whereas I don’t think Spurs can wait defensively for that long.
“Although Spurs have a slight advantage, I do think Villa will be more confident, regardless of fatigue from going away to Ajax.
“They will have watched Tottenham’s match last week and know they need to block out the middle areas.
“Spurs struggled against Crystal Palace and were quite rigid with the back five so it will be a little different for Villa.
“It will be an interesting end-to-end game.”
Postecoglou’s men started the season looking like surprise title contenders, but are now scrapping to finish in the top four, with talk of the title all but gone.
