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Title rivals preview: Spurs vs Luton, Villa vs Wolves and Liverpool vs Brighton

By on March 28, 2024

Ollie Watkins Aston Villa

Premier League action returns this weekend after the international break. Arsenal have a huge game against Manchester City on Sunday, but today I’m going to look at the matches involving our closest rivals.

Just 11 points separates top of the table Arsenal from fifth-placed Tottenham, and with 10 games remaining, it’s all to play for at the top of the table. So let’s preview some of this weekend’s key games:

Tottenham vs Luton Town

Spurs are the first of the top five to play as they host Luton Town at the New White Hart Lane at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. Tottenham will be desperate to get back on track after losing 3-0 away to Fulham before the break. Rodrigo Muniz scored twice while Sasa Lukic was also on the scoresheet as the Cottagers ran riot at Craven Cottage.

The defeat has left Spurs sitting three points behind Villa in fifth, so Ange Postecoglou will want to put the pressure on their top four rivals with a win over Luton in North London on Saturday afternoon. Fans who buy Tottenham tickets know this is a game they cannot afford to lose if they want to be playing Champions League football next season.

The Hatters needed a late goal to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest last time out. However, they still managed to climb out of the bottom three after Forest were slapped with a four-point deduction for breaking PPS rules just days later.

Luton now sit 17th – one point ahead of Forest – so they’ll want to boost their survival hopes with a shock result against Tottenham this weekend.

Team news

Tottenham will assess the fitness of Micky van de Ven as he looks to return from a thigh injury that he sustained earlier this month. However, the Luton game is likely to come too soon for the defender.

Manor Solomon remains on the sidelines with a knee injury while Ryan Sessegnon is also out with a thigh injury. Goalkeeper Fraser Forster won’t be in contention due to an on-going ankle problem.

As for Luton, they’ll be without a number of players. Thomas Lockyer, Amari Bell, Marvelous Nakamba, Elijah Adebayo, Dan Potts, Joe Johnson, Gabriel Osho, Jacob Brown and Mads Anderson are all expected to miss the game.

Albert Sambi-Lokonga is also a doubt with a thigh problem while Alfie Doughty, Pelly Mpanzu and Chiedozie Ogbene will be assessed.

Prediction

Tottenham have shown signs of inconsistency this season, which could be expected given Postecoglou’s all-action, end-to-end style of play. However, Luton have a huge injury list to contend with and Spurs will be confident of beating the relegation-threatened Hatters on home soil. Tottenham 3-1 Luton

Aston Villa vs Wolves

Aston Villa will get their opportunity to respond to Tottenham’s result when they take on Wolves at Villa Park at 5.30pm on Saturday evening.

After a hugely impressive campaign, Villa have started to wobble in recent weeks. They were thrashed 4-0 at home by top-four rivals Tottenham earlier this month before being held to a 1-1 draw away to West Ham before the break.

Those results have cut Villa’s lead in fourth to just three points and they’ll find themselves out of the top four come kick off if Tottenham beat Luton earlier on Saturday afternoon. Spurs are red-hot favourites to get the win, so the pressure will be on Unai Emery’s men to respond.

Wolves will also be looking to get back on track when they travel to Villa Park after they were dumped out of the FA Cup thanks to a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Coventry City last time out. Wolves led with just two minutes of extra time remaining but Coventry scored two last gasp goals to stun Molineux and book their place in the semi-finals.

However, Wolves have been going steady in the Premier League. Three wins from their last four games has seen them climb to ninth in the table and they could end up in seventh with a win at Villa Park if other results go their way.

Team news

The Villains will be without Boubacar Kamara due to a knee injury while Emi Buendia is also ruled out for the rest of the campaign following knee surgery. Captain John McGinn continues his suspension after being sent off against Spurs and Tyrone Mings won’t play again this season due to a knee injury. Jacob Ramsey and Matty Cash will need late fitness tests.

As for Wolves, Pedro Neto has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury and Hee-Chan Hwang is also ruled out this weekend. Craig Dawson will be assessed to see if he can return from a groin issue.

Prediction

Villa don’t have a good record against Wolves as they haven’t won any of the last six league games, but that run should end this weekend. Aston Villa are a very good side these days and should have more than enough quality to beat Wolves at home. Villa 2-1 Wolves. 

Liverpool vs Brighton

Just a few hours before Arsenal take on Man City, Liverpool have the chance to return to the top of the table with a win over Brighton at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Merseysiders currently sit second on goal difference from the Gunners after drawing their last Premier League game with Man City. The two sides played out a thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield, and while they will both have been relieved not to lose, the draw was a great result for Arsenal, too.

Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup before the international break after losing a thriller 4-3 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Therefore, Jurgen Klopp will be desperate to get back to winning ways with a win over Brighton this weekend.

The Seagulls head to Anfield off the back of an inconsistent run of form. They beat Roma 1-0 last time out but still crashed out of the Europa League having lost 4-1 on aggregate. A 1-0 win over Forest came after a 3-0 loss away to Fulham while they were also held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.

Brighton sit eighth in the table but Roberto De Zebri will hope to make a push for the top six or seven, so he’ll be looking to bring home a positive result from Liverpool on Sunday.

Team news

Liverpool have been handed a fresh injury scare after Andrew Robertson picked up an ankle injury on international duty. Darwin Nunez will also need to be assessed due to a thigh problem.

However, Thiago Alcantara remains out along with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate, Diogo Jota and Joel Matip.

Brighton will be without the services of Solomon March, Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood and Joao Pedro, while James Milner also misses out against his former club.

Prediction

Liverpool know they have a huge opportunity to gain ground on at least one of their title rivals with City and Arsenal playing each other this weekend. Brighton can be a dangerous side and have picked up results against top teams in the past, including away to Liverpool. However, I don’t see Klopp’s men slipping up on Sunday. Liverpool 2-1 Brighton.