Tottenham v Aston Villa: Kane can double up

Tottenham v Aston Villa: Kane can double up

This could be an entertaining game and Harry Kane may just fill his boots with a top goalscorer award up for grabs, says Jamie Pacheco.

Big summer coming up for Spurs

A much-improved performance on Sunday saw Spurs beat Wolves 2-0. After a few weeks of trying to find their feet under Ryan Mason, they looked much more aggressive, hungry and full of energy than they ever did in the last few months of Jose Mourinho's reign.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had a cracking game, covering the whole pitch and not only scoring one but assisting the other. Dele Alli looks motivated and confident again and is unlikely to be leaving the club any time soon, which had looked inevitable under Mourinho.

This is a big summer for Spurs with the board needing to decide whether to stick or twist with Mason and whether Harry Kane is deemed irreplaceable, or the man who will be sold to raise funds to rebuild the squad.

How Watkins and Mings shined this year

Villa and Crystal Palace served up a real treat on Sunday afternoon, with attacking football, slick passing and plenty of chances throughout in a game which finished 3-2 to Palace.

Villa have a pretty good spine to the team at the moment and they'll be even better once Jack Grealish gets back to full fitness.

This has been a good season for them with record signing Ollie Watkins justifying his price tag with all those goals and Tyrone Mings quickly becoming one of the league's most consistent defenders.

But Ross Barkley hasn't quite had the impact they would have hoped and it would be a bit of a surprise if they looked to sign him on a permanent basis, because he won't be cheap.

Spurs justified favourites

Spurs are 1.55 on the Exchange and, all things considered, that's not too bad a price. Part of the reason for that is that they have an excellent record against Villa. They've beaten them on each of the last six times they've played them across five league matches and an FA Cup tie back in 2017.

That includes a 3-1 win in this fixture in the league last year at White Hart Lane and a 2-0 win at Villa earlier on in the season. Spurs have been good at home recently. Going back to early February, they've won six of their last seven at home, only missing out in a defeat to Manchester United. So there are plenty of reasons to think this has a Spurs win written all over it.

It's 4.8 the draw and 6.4 the Villa win if you disagree.

Alli and Watkins could be good for a goal

'Overs' is just 1.6 and that of course suggests there should be plenty of goals in the game. That may just be right with two of the last four here played between the two ending 3-1.

And both these teams have been involved in high-scoring games of late. Since the start of April Spurs have had games finish 2-2, 1-3, 2-2, 4-0 and 3-1. In the last month, prior to their defeat to Palace, Villa have beaten Everton 2-1, while drawing 2-2 with West Brom and losing 3-1 to Manchester United.

So, if there are to be goals, who's a decent price to get one?

The 11/4 on Watkins looks about right. He has 13 in 34 appearances this season and will be desperate to make a late impression with Euro 2021 coming up. At a slightly bigger 4/1 you can back Grealish but he's only scored six this season and may not be quite ready to start just yet so you're best waiting for the line-ups before going with the talented playmaker.

For Spurs Dele Alli could be someone to follow at 21/10 given how well he's played the last couple of weeks. He was desperately unlucky to hit the upright on Sunday and is another looking to make a late impression ahead of this summers' Euros.

Kane hunting for goals

Have we forgotten about anyone? Ah yes, Harry Kane.

Kane has an impressive record in this fixture. He scored a penalty in that 2-0 win earlier this season, twice in the 3-1 win last season and scored three times against them in two matches back in 2015/16.

At the weekend he scored a well-taken goal and could have had a hat-trick after hitting the post twice. Crucially, he's 2.1 be the league's top scorer so may just be a little keener than usual to get on the scoresheet with Mo Salah 1.8 currently tied with him on 22 goals.

Kane is 4/6 to score a goal and 16/5 to get two or more. The preference is for the latter given his record against Villa, his hunger for goals to win that award and the potential for goals in the match.