Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur endured difficult games over the weekend in the Premier League.
There is no doubt that Tottenham will be feeling much worse because they lost the north London derby to Arsenal on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Aston Villa were 2-0 up by half-time against Chelsea, yet they only managed to record a 2-2 draw.
For Ange Postecoglou, he will be looking at his team’s first-half display, being 3-0 down, and how they just didn’t turn up.
And Unai Emery will be thinking where his team ended up because, after leading 2-0 at the break, they capitulated and never turned up for the second half.
All in all, it keeps the race for Champions League football alive, with destiny still in Villa’s hands as only very few games now remain.
The Midlands outfit are sitting in fourth place, seven points clear of Spurs, with a better goal difference, although, they have two games in hand.
Those games in hand are against Chelsea and Manchester City. Two very tough fixtures for Postecoglou and his players to deal with.
Added to that, for large parts of the season, Villa have been sitting fourth in the Premier League table.
That’s why Jeff Stelling wanted to make it clear that it would be ‘harsh’ if Villa didn’t finish fourth now and be deserving of it, as he told talkSPORT (29/04/24 at 9:25 am).
Added to that, he rightfully pointed out the fixtures that are coming Spurs’ way and how that also favours Emery’s men.
Aston Villa and Tottenham’s fight for fourth
“I think it’s in the bag for them now,” said Stelling about Aston Villa getting fourth.
“Spurs’ fixtures are so tough, though, aren’t they, in comparison, if you are looking at the fourth and fifth. Spurs have got Chelsea away, Liverpool away and Manchester City at home. They also have got Burnley, which might not be a pushover because they are grappling for survival.
“Villa have been in the top four for much of the season, haven’t they? I think it would be a harsh person to say that they didn’t deserve a Champions League place.”
A big week ahead for Aston Villa
Interestingly enough, when Villa are playing Olympiacos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final encounter on Thursday night, Spurs will also be playing against Chelsea at the same time.
So, by the time Villa play Brighton at the weekend, and they play before Tottenham’s visit to Anfield, then they could well secure fourth spot on that day.
READ MORE: Chelsea could not ‘handle’ Aston Villa star, Unai Emery’s change made ‘big difference’
If the London club lose both fixtures, and Villa beat Brighton, then Champions League football will be returning to B6.
So, this is a huge, huge week ahead for the team because the Lille fixture showed how difficult this Olympiacos game is going to be.
The post ‘It will be a harsh person to say’: Jeff Stelling makes his feelings clear about Aston Villa & Tottenham appeared first on Aston Villa News.
