Match Summary
It was a hugely disappointing Tottenham Hotspur performance which saw Conte’s team start the New Year on a serious low point, falling 0-2 to a well-drilled Aston Villa.
Aston Villa demonstrated a clearer idea of their game plan and thanks to two second-half strikes from Emiliano Buendía and Douglas Luiz, eased to victory in the end.
With the victory which prevented Spurs regain 4th place, the once-laughed-at Unai Emery continued to rebuild his reputation in England. The win caps what has been a highly impressive start to his reign as manager of Aston Villa.
Tottenham’s starting side saw the important Kulusevski and Bentancur miss out.
For Villa, there was no place in the starting side for the much-talked-about Emi Martinez, but Aston Villa won the tactical battle, and their backup keeper was very rarely tested due to such strong defending both before and after their goals.
Signs were poor from the very start as it took key man Harry Kane almost 20 minutes to get his finish touch in the contest. Soon after, a nice individual run from wing-back Doherty forced a decent save but that was about as close as the frustrated host came to scoring.
Aston Villa defended with great discipline and bided their team to pick holes in the shaky defence. A Hugo Lloris mistake led to the crucial opening goal that was finished by an alert Buendia. Not long after a Douglas Luiz shot from close range sealed what was a deserved win for the visitor.
Betting Summary
Looking at the 1×2 market initially where Tottenham were 1.60 losing favourites. Crucially, the home team never looked anywhere close to meriting their starting price. Indeed, the host drifted very quickly the longer the game went on.
Moving on to the Asian handicap market where Tottenham was giving away a -0.75/2.04 start. Once more, the line was never justified as Spurs not only ever looked like winning, but they ended up losing by two goals, rewarding Aston Villa +0.75 / 1.89 backers. The away team didn’t generate many clear openings but did punish mistakes and take their opportunities when they arrived. It is important to note how well Aston Villa managed the game and the situation once ahead.
Ending our summary on the betting section with the under/over goal market, where Under 2.75/1.98 was the winning selection. The punters which sided with the Over were let down by a Spurs no-show with the ball. This market was close given that there was plenty of time after Villa’s second goal, but once more Villa’s stubborn defence and Spurs’ lack of ideas and quality saw the Under-bet win.
