Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham - Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Spurs thump Villa, West Ham level late and Brighton lead

Right, that's it from me. Attention now turns to Anfield. I'll leave a link again below to our coverage.

It's been a cracking game so far, I must say. And someone has just taken the lead...

Here, Spurs have taken a big leap towards the top four, but it is far from overy yet. A good win for Brighton too, but West Ham stay above them due to a late equaliser against Burnley.

Thanks all!

And it's full time in the capital too.

Not a great result for West Ham at all, but it's enough to keep them seventh and above Brighton.

For Burnley, it's a decent point but more a case of what could have been.

Fofana and a Mavropanos own goal on target for them. Paqueta and Ings for West Ham.

That's your lot on the south coast and Brighton have hung on.

They needed that after back-to-back heavy defeats.

Tough for Forest, who are still bang in trouble.

Omobamidele's own goal the difference.

THIS TIME IT STANDS!

Ings could easily have let his head drop but he did anything but, poking in after good play from Kudus to earn his side what will surely be a point.

It's his first Premier League goal in a year. West Ham won't be majorly happy with the result, but it's better than a loss.

This is so close to offside. We are talking level...

The check goes on... he's off! Wow!

It's really good play from Michael Antonio and he feeds Danny Ings, who looks like he has grabbed the equaliser following the pressure.

But he has not. Antonio is offside by the width of a hair.

Not that I want you to leave or anything, but Adam is covering Liverpool vs Man City live and they are just getting underway there.

Do games get bigger? Not much.

You can follow that below if you want to.

Player ratings are in from Villa Park courtesy of Tom Collomosse.

Some interesting takes in there for sure. And it's not good reading for John McGinn...

Check them out below!

Here are the stats from Tottenham's 4-0 win over Aston Villa, coutesy of our friends at Sofascore.

More possession, higher shot-quality, higher xG, more passes.

Pure domination from Tottenham.

Moder's just been booked for Brighton and it was a high one. Orange maybe... blue?

If McGinn's was a red, Moder's should have been too, Clinton Morrison says on Sky.

Still Forest on top here, who have brought Callum Hudson-Odoi on too.

The Seagulls are poised to overtake West Ham into seventh as things stand.

Burnley have gone to a back five now, with Delcroix coming on for Odobert.

All hands on deck for Burley. What a vital three points this would be.

Both sides have made changes at the Amex, with Brighton swapping Ferguson and Fati for Welbeck and Lamptey.

For Forest, Elanga and Sangare have come on for Origi and Danilo.

Forest are on top now agaisnt a fragile Brighton. A long way to go.

A massive chance for Kudus! The Burnley defender slips and the forward cuts in but he's skied his effort.

End-to-end this, now. Burnley have had chances too.

I'd bet this one doesn't end goalless.

Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to Sky Sports.

One thing I've noticed with him is that he's always told his supporters to dream. I like that.

Gareth Southgate is at the London Stadium today and two players he may have been watching have been hooked at half time.

Kalvin Phillips' nightmare spell with the Hammers has continued, while James Ward-Prowse has also been taken off.

One would suggest it is a long shot either man will go to the Euros.

It was a truly dire first half for West Ham but they have come flying out the blocks and got an early goal against Burnley.

They now trail by just one. It's a bit second half for Vincent Kompany's side now.

Thanks to Adam for his coverage today, Lewis Browning coming in now to see out the 2pms.

James Maddison has had his say following a really impressie performance in Birmingham, meanwhile.

An absolute dream of an afternoon for Spurs, who have their top four aspirations in their own hands as they close to within two points of Villa but with a game in hand.

They absolutely ripped Villa apart today, scoring twice in the early stages of the second-half through James Maddison and then Brennan Johnson.

Their task became easier when Villa captain John McGinn was sent off for a reckless tackle on Destiny Udogie.

And with plenty of space to exploit, they added two more goals through Son Heung-min and Timo Werner.

This is getting messy now.

Lovely finish by Werner, who seems to be rediscovering his scoring confidence. Nice first-time finish on the left foot after Son had weaved into the Villa box and cut the ball back to him.

‘Four-nil in your cup final’ is the taunt as Villa Park empties.

By the way, we’re into 10 minutes of added time. Not sure where all that came from.

Well, that’ll do it.

Thumping finish by Son Heung-min when the ball dropped to him 12 yards from goal, leaving Martinez no chance.

The build-up came down the right-hand side and led to Kulusevski laying the ball on a plate for him.

It’s been the perfect afternoon for Tottenham.

What a nightmare afternoon this is turning into for West Ham. Mavropanos has diverted Josh Cullen’s cross into his own net and struggling Burnley are two to the good!

Two Spurs subs as well - Timo Werner comes on for James Maddison, the scorer of their first goal, then second scorer Johnson is replaced by Hojbjerg.

Change for Villa - Ezri Konsa goes off and Diego Carlos is on.

Villa are still pushing - to their credit - and Vicario very bravely dives at the feet of Zaniolo at the back spot following a corner. Good save and then the Villa man landed on top of his head - ouch!

Remarkably, that is Villa’s first shot on target today. They really haven’t been at the races.

Spurs’ keeper will need to concussion checks.

‘Is there a fire drill?’ chant the Spurs fans as pockets of empty seats begin to appear in the home areas.

The afternoon unravelled very quickly for Villa after half-time and their chances of getting anything from this big game are slim.

Unai Emery will need to muster a response with Ajax in Europe on Thursday night and then West Ham to come next weekend.

Johnson looking for another as he controls the ball with his midriff at the back post and shoots. Cash gets the key block in.

Spurs looking very comfortable as you might expect approaching the final 10 minutes. They’re able to take their time and control the tempo.

As it stands, they’ll be two points behind fourth-placed Villa but crucially, they have a game in hand, which is against Chelsea.

Brighton into the lead at the Amex, with Omobamidele getting the decisive touch into his own net under pressure from Moder. Forest not happy as they believe there was a foul in there.

Spurs searching for a third and they’re in Villa’s box before both Bentancur and then Son overplay it, allowing the defenders to regroup and clear.

That red card has sucked what remained of the atmosphere out of Villa Park. Unai Emery’s side look beaten now and we still have over 20 minutes left.

Emery responds to the McGinn red by bringing on Tim Iroegbunam for Leon Bailey.

And a change for Spurs as well with Rodrigo Bentancur introduced for Pape Sarr.

Oh dear, this afternoon going from bad to worse for Villa. McGinn has been dismissed for what was a reckless tackle on Destiny Udogie as the Spurs man tries to break forward down the left.

Udogie initially tried to get up and remonstrate before falling back to the ground, the tackle sparking a little skirmish on the sidelines. It was an ugly tackle for sure, a sign of Villa’s frustrations.

Spurs sub Radu Dragusin gets a yellow card for blocking the taking of a quick Villa free-kick.

The hosts need to come out and attack now following those two goals but you feel a more open game could allow Spurs to add to their tally.

Villa have responded to that double blow by making a triple change. Off have gone Digne, Lenglet and Tielemans, on come Moreno, Diaby and Zaniolo.

The perfect start for Burnley at the London Stadium as Fofana plays a one-two off a West Ham defender before barging through to fire home.

From bad to worse for Villa and they really were their own worst enemy there, giving the ball away 40 yards from their own goal.

It’s worked well to Son Heung-min, who opts not to shoot but to find Johnson to his left and his rising finish find the top of the net.

Terrific few minutes for Spurs and their Champions League ambitions.

Let’s. Play. Darts.

James Maddison’s trademark celebration is out at Villa Park because he’s handed Spurs what could be a crucial advantage in this game.

Maddison stretching out to guide the ball home after Pape Sarr broke free down the right to deliver an inviting cross. Maddison doing really well to get in front of two defenders and finish the job.

There was a VAR check for offside against both Sarr and Maddison but both were on.

As it stands, Spurs just two points behind Villa with a game in hand.

Spurs do have an injury concern, but it’s Micky van de Ven who has gone down. He is going to be forced off and Dragusin, who we mentioned a couple of minute ago, will come on after all.

Leon Bailey gets in behind the Spurs defence and blasts a shot high and wide. He must have known he was standing offside.

Or possibly not, but he missed in either case.

Matty Cash gets forward in the opening seconds of the half but instead of whipping it straight across looking for Watkins, he cuts back inside and the move break down.

Watkins makes his frustrations known.

The teams are back out for the second period. No changes at the break despite Radu Dragusin very consciously warming up during the interval.

Villa get us going again, we await the first goal.

West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Cresswell, Soucek, Phillips, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Lucas Paqueta, Bowen.

Subs: Fabianski, Johnson, Zouma, Antonio, Ings, Alvarez, Ogbonna, Earthy, Mubama.

Burnley: Trafford, Assignon, O'Shea, Esteve, Taylor, Vitinho, Berge, Cullen, Odobert, Fofana, Bruun Larsen.

Subs: Cork, Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Rodriguez, Benson, Amdouni, Ndayishimiye, Delcroix, Muric.

Referee: Darren England (South Yorkshire)

Brighton: Verbruggen, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan, Baleba, Moder, Adingra, Gross, Fati, Ferguson.

Subs: Barco, Lamptey, Igor, Webster, Enciso, Lallana, Welbeck, Steele, Buonanotte.

Nottm Forest: Sels, Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo, Dominguez, Danilo, Yates, Origi, Wood, Gibbs-White.

Subs: Turner, Sangare, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Hudson-Odoi, Felipe, Niakhate, Elanga, Boly.

Referee: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire)

A little snippet from our reporter Matt Barlow at Villa Park:

Pape Sarr looked in pain on the half time whistle. Crashed onto the floor at the end of the half and was dragged up back up onto his feet and limped off looking uncomfortable.

Perhaps we were guilty of building this game up too much. It’s been a real let-down so far in terms of entertainment, all tight and cagey.

We didn’t really see a clear sight of goal for either side until the very end of the half.

It cane only get more exciting in the second period.

Villa break as we approach half-time and Watkins ignores options on either side to shoot, but it’s a blocked after he cut onto his stronger right boot.

Villa do win themselves a corner and Digne stoops to meet McGinn’s cross following the short corner routine. He tries to loop the header home but it comes off his shoulder instead and it drops wide.

One minute added.

Does that count as a shot on target?

Johnson takes on Cash again and attempts to cross into the Villa six-yard box. He doesn’t get that right but it goes towards goal and Martinez easily claims.

Brennan Johnson is picked out down the left but Matty Cash does a fine defensive job on him and Villa repel the danger. Johnson tried to pick out Son’s overlap but again the Poland International clears.

Cries for a penalty from the Villa fans as Leon Bailey goes down in the box under Bissouma’s challenge. But the referee is unmoved, looks like the Spurs man got a touch to the ball.

VAR concurs. Replays showed that Bissouma did stand on the ball, albeit a bit clumsily, before there was a tangle of legs.

We’re beyond the half-hour mark but still no shot on target for either team…

It’s been something of a chess match so far.

Villa threatening now and Matty Cash can’t quite squeeze the ball home at the near post as James Maddison gets back to perform some defensive duties.

Nice work by Leon Bailey to provide the original cross, but Spurs survive.

The temperature rising now and there’s a bit of pushing and shoving after Spurs won a free-kick.

From their next attack, Kulusevski carelessly strays offside when in a good position on the right.

It’s been a fascinating contest so far but few chances of any note.

Villa in the ascendancy now having settled into the contest. Lucas Digne swings in a cross from the left, looking for claret shirts in the middle, but Vicario is off his line quickly to claim.

Villa’s turn to swing in a free-kick from a position of promise, with Vicario coming out and punching away John McGinn’s ball.

Pape Sarr picked up the game’s first yellow card in conceding that free-kick. He challenged Youri Tielemans.

Brennan Johnson is fouled on the Spurs left and it offers Pedro Porro the chance to swing in a dangerous ball.

Easily dealt with by Clement Llenglet and Villa break through John McGinn and suddenly Watkins is slipped through on goal.

But Watkins had gone a second too early and was offside, though remarkably he opted to try and square a pass rather than shooting!

Villa haven’t settled as well as Spurs and it was summed up there when Leon Bailey gave up chasing a ball down the touchline thinking it was going out. It didn’t.

But then Yves Bissouma gave the ball away, with Youri Tielemans getting a shot off that was blocked. A follow-up cross looking for the run of Matty Cash on the right was over-struck.

Spurs have settled the quicker here with two dangerous crosses swung into the Villa box in quick succession. Can’t quite get someone on the end of it.

The first cross was by Destiny Udogie from the left, just ahead of Dejan Kulusevski. The second was by Kulusevski, who retrieved it, and James Maddison couldn’t direct his header on target.

Pedro Porro on the ball as Spurs get a sniff of the Villa goal for the first time. But it’s a poor delivery by Porro and it flies harmlessly wide to cheers of derision from the locals.

Great anticipation by Ollie Watkins to seize the ball and momentarily he’s in behind the Spurs defence. Van de Ven comes across and barges Watkins off the ball before he can shoot.

Watkins in agony on the ground and in the end the ball is put out of play. Perfectly good challenge by Van de Ven but Watkins fell quite awkwardly.

Watkins will be fine to continue.

It looks like Unai Emery has set Villa up with a back five, but no doubt Matty Cash and Lucas Digne will be expected, as wing-backs, to get forward at every opportunity.

The Spurs high press in evidence right from the outset as Brennan Johnson scurries about.

A minute’s applause pre-match for former Villa captain Chris Nicholl given this is the first home game since his passing on February 24.

Now we’re underway - Villa in claret and blue, Spurs in all-white, as it should be.

Cracking atmosphere inside Villa Park despite the drab conditions as Spurs get us started.

The flame machines burst into life, warming the cockles of the Villa Park crowd ahead of this eagerly-anticipated clash in the top four race.

As an hors d’oeuvre to Liverpool vs Man City, this isn’t bad at all!

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Luiz, Tielemans, Watkins, Bailey.

Subs: Olsen, Carlos, Moreno, Diaby, Zaniolo, Duran, Rogers, Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam.

Tottenham XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Son.

Subs: Austin, Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Royal, Werner, Lo Celso, Bentancur, Davies, Scarlett.

The first of our four Premier League matches this afternoon is about to get underway at a wet and soggy Villa Park.

Can Villa establish an eight-point cushion between themselves in fourth place and Tottenham in fifth, taking pole position in the Champions League race?

Or can Spurs cut that gap to just two points, with a game in hand?

We’re about to find out.

The Villa players today are warming up in shirts with ‘Unite for Access’ on them. It’s a campaign by charity Level Playing Field, who advocate for disabled sports fans in England and Wales.

Their campaign promotes accessibility and inclusion for disabled sports fans.

Aston Villa face the prospect of having to sell at least one key player this summer after losing nearly £120million in the last accounting year.

The Champions League-chasing club posted losses of £119.6m for the year ending May 30, 2023, with the next accounting period expected to end on June 30 this year.

The Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR) state that clubs can lose no more than £105m over a three-year period, with points deductions among the possible penalties for doing so.

Click the link below to read more

The two teams going through their warm-ups in the Birmingham damp. Here’s Spurs players Son Heung-min, Micky van de Ven and Brennan Johnson.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has also just stood in front of the TV cameras. He spoke about what he expects from today’s contest.

Villa boss Unai Emery was chatting to Sky Sports just now. He spoke about wanting his team to continue their progress and that consistency will come as a result.

They have won their last three Premier League meeting with Spurs - their longest in this fixture since four-in-a-row, achieving in January 1996.

Villa have scored 59 Premier League goals this season - their most in a top-flight campaign since the 71 they scored under Martin O’Neill in 2007-08.

It’s their most at this precise stage of a top-flight season since 1932-33 when they had 68 goals!

Villa have won four of their last five Premier League matches, including the last three in a row.

It’s the fourth run of three or more consecutive wins under Unai Emery, something only two mangers had managed for them since O’Neill left in 2010.

They were Dean Smith (2020) and Steven Gerrard (2022).

Pape Sarr likes to know how the machine works, behind the bright lights and the slick movements.

He likes to know what you do in the background to get the thing firing and how to fix things if they’re broken.

All of which explains his career choice once he's finished with football!

Click the link below to find out.

Tottenham are in the building at Villa Park. Here’s James Maddison and Son Heung-min arriving a short while ago.

Tottenham XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Son.

Subs: Austin, Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Royal, Werner, Lo Celso, Bentancur, Davies, Scarlett.

Ange Postecoglou has made three changes from the Tottenham side that beat Crystal Palace 3-1 last weekend.

Pedro Porro makes his return at right-back after missing a month with a muscle injury, while Brennan Johnson and Pape Matar Sarr are the others brought in.

Emerson Royal, Rodrigo Bentancur and Timo Werner all drop to the bench.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Luiz, Tielemans, Watkins, Bailey.

Subs: Olsen, Carlos, Moreno, Diaby, Zaniolo, Duran, Rogers, Kesler-Hayden, Iroegbunam.

Unai Emery has made three changes from the Aston Villa side that drew 0-0 with Ajax in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday night.

Captain John McGinn, winger Leon Bailey and full-back Matty Cash all come back into the team in place of Moussa Diaby, Morgan Rogers and Tim Iroegbunam.

Stay tuned for the confirmed team line-ups from the first of our Premier League matches today.

Will Timo Werner (below) be involved for Spurs?

One of the topics up for discussion on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast this week was who will lift the trophy come May with Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal all slug it out.

See what Ian Ladyman and Chris Sutton had to say by clicking below and be sure to listen to the show.

Ange Postecoglou braves the Brummie weather as Tottenham made their entrance at Villa Park a few minutes ago.

Both 2pm kick-offs today will affect the relegation picture at the bottom of the Premier League.

Burnley, who dropped to the foot of the table when Sheffield United picked up a point at Bournemouth yesterday, play at West Ham.

They’re 11 points off Nottingham Forest, who are up against Brighton at the same time.

It’s increasingly do-or-die for the Clarets if they’re to escape the drop, while Forest also really need something with the threat of a point deduction still hanging over them.

Yesterday, Luton snatched what could prove a very significant point at Crystal Palace thanks to Cauley Woodrow’s late goal, while Everton and Brentford losses prevented them pulling away.

Some typically colourful comments from Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou ahead of this game, making the point it's meaningless spending a season in the Champions League - with all the riches that flow from it - without making continuous progress.

Yes, he did say ‘mate’ before making the Willy Wonka comment too…

Click the link below to read more.

Not the most pleasant day in Birmingham, it’s fair to say…

Let’s begin by taking a look at the top end of the Premier League and the situation we find ourselves in ahead of today’s action.

Arsenal moved top with last night’s crucial 2-1 win over Brentford, with the Gunners a point ahead of Liverpool and two ahead of City.

Of course, the victors of today’s clash at Anfield will go ahead of them in this title race which promises plenty of twists and turns yet.

Beneath them, probably but not entirely out of the title picture, are Villa in fourth on 55 points and then Spurs in fifth on 50 points.

So a Villa win today will put valuable breathing space between them and Spurs if the Premier League only ends up with four Champions League spots.

If the league gets that fifth place, you certainly can’t rule out Manchester United, whose win over Everton yesterday put them within striking distance of Spurs.

Before the titanic title tussle between Liverpool and Manchester City later on, a match also of considerable significance towards the top end of the Premier League.

Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are both hoping to play in the Champions League next season.

Indeed, they both might if the Premier League gets five places based on the UEFA coefficient. But fourth guarantees it and so today’s meeting at Villa Park carries plenty of significance.

By 3pm, Villa could have opened up an eight-point gap to Spurs, or it could be down to two. Manchester United in sixth - inconsistent but still hopeful - are on the prowl in sixth spot.

In addition, we have a couple of 2pm kick-offs to keep tabs on - Brighton vs Nottingham Forest and West Ham vs Burnley both have implications at the wrong end of the table.

So a warm welcome along to our live coverage of the three ‘early’ Premier League matches today, whetting the appetite before the big one later.