It's back! The Premier League returns this week, with Tottenham's campaign getting underway on Saturday with a home tie against newly promoted Aston Villa as they aim to come back even stronger following last season's Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.
Mauricio Pochettino's men are now established Champions League regulars and are expected to finish in the top four again this season.
Villa, meanwhile, are back in the top flight after three years lurking in the Championship. Play-off success following a strong end to the 2018/19 season, coupled with an extremely active transfer window, has ensured that optimism is high and there is a determination to upset the favourites.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's clash.
Where to Watch
| When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 10 August |
| What Time Is Kick Off? | 17:30 (BST) |
| Where Is it Played? | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
| TV Channel/Live Stream? | Sky Sports Premier League/Sky Sports Main Event - FuboTV - Free Trial |
| Referee? | Chris Kavanagh |
Team News
Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth are both suspended for the first two fixtures having picked up red cards in last season's penultimate game against Bournemouth. The latter also suffered an ankle injury in pre-season and is suspected to be out of action until September.
Dele Alli has suffered another hamstring injury, with the midfielder likely to miss the first few weeks of the campaign. Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Victor Wanyama also remain sidelined.
With Serge Aurier a doubt with a hand injury, Kyle Walker-Peters is Tottenham's only fully fit and available right back and is expected to start the season, while speculation surrounding Christian Eriksen's future has made it uncertain whether the playmaker will begin the match.
Villa, on the other hand, have been more fortunate on the injury front, but Anwar El Ghazi, Jed Steer and Ezri Konsa are all doubts.
Predicted Lineups
| Tottenham | Lloris; Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Winks, Ndombele; Lamela; Moura, Kane. |
| Aston Villa | Heaton; Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Hourihane, Grealish; Jota, Wesley, El Ghazi. |
Head to Head Record
As regulars in the top flight throughout the history of English football, the two sides have met a staggering 163 times, with Spurs coming out on top with 72 wins to Villa's 56.
Spurs have been even more dominant in recent years, losing just once in their last 17 matches in all competitions to the Villans, a run stretching back to 2008.
The last meeting was an FA Cup tie in January 2017, with goals from Ben Davies and Son helping Spurs to a 2-0 win.
Recent Form
Both managers will be pleased with their pre-season results and performances, with Villa victorious throughout and Spurs enjoying mixed results, albeit against tougher opposition.
Villa won all six of their games, mostly against lower opposition, but nevertheless convincingly, and even recorded an impressive victory over Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. They head into the game full of optimism and belief.
Spurs, meanwhile, beat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on their way to winning the Audi Cup, as well as Juventus in the International Champions Cup. However, they also lost to Manchester United as well as Inter on penalties, having drawn 1-1 over 90 minutes, in their most recent friendly.
Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures:
| Tottenham | Aston Villa |
| Tottenham 1-1 Inter (4/8) | RB Leipzig 0-1 Aston Villa (4/8) |
| Tottenham 2-2 Bayern Munich (31/7) | RB Leipzig 1-3 Aston Villa (3/8) |
| Real Madrid 0-1 Tottenham (30/7) | Charlton 1-4 Aston Villa (27/7) |
| Tottenham 1-2 Manchester United (25/7) | Walsall 1-5 Aston Villa (24/7) |
| Juventus 2-3 Tottenham (21/7) | Shrewsbury 0-1 Aston Villa (21/7) |
Prediction
Villa have been on fire this pre-season, with Jack Grealish and John McGinn scoring freely and causing the opposition team problems, and there's no doubt that Villa can catch Spurs by surprise if the hosts start sluggishly.
Spurs, however, have been fine themselves this summer. Although there are question marks surrounding the futures of certain players, as well as several injury problems, they should be able to field a strong enough side to dispatch of Villa in front of their own fans, so expect a Spurs victory - albeit not a comfortable one.
Prediction: Spurs 2-1 Aston Villa
Source : 90min