Aston Villa

Aston Villa: Duo expected to be cleared for Spurs game

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Both Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia look set to be cleared ahead of Aston Villa’s fixture with Spurs on Saturday as long as there are “no reactions”, according to injury specialist and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery. 

In the last game out, both players reportedly picked up slight knocks in their West Midlands derby game against Wolves, where the Villans lost 2-1 after Ashley Young’s own-goal sealed the deal for their opponents.

This loss has left Villa without a win in their last three games, allowing them to be leapfrogged by Crystal Palace and Leicester City in the table and heading into the weekend 11th in the league, level on points with Southampton in 12th – and if results do not go their way they could realistically end it as low as 13th.

The injury news for both players comes from injury specialist Dinnery, who was speaking on Friday via his Premier FPL Injuries YouTube channel, stating: “Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia both picked up knocks in the West Midlands derby. Tyrone Mings trained on Thursday, whereas Buendia has trained today. So as long as there’s no reaction there, he should be absolutely fine.”

TIF Thoughts on Buendia and Mings’ potential return…

Getting both Buendia and Mings back to full fitness will certainly help Villa in their quest for three points against a high-flying Tottenham Hotspur side under Conte, who are battling it out for the final Champions League spot.

Buendia has struggled to find consistency at Villa since the arrival of Philippe Coutinho and has regularly come off the bench for the Midlands outfit in recent weeks.

However, when he finds his form, he is an elite chance creator and will help striker Ollie Watkins find the back of the net. According to WhoScored, Buendia has racked up two goals and four assists so far this season while averaging 1.2 shots, 1.4 key passes and 1.2 successful dribbles per game, with a 79.8% pass accuracy from an average of 25 attempts per game.

Mings, on the other hand, has been a consistent starter for Gerrard at the back as captain this season. Averaging 1.2 interceptions, 0.6 tackles, 3.5 clearances, and 0.8 blocks per game (WhoScored), he has cemented himself as one of Villa’s most important players in a backline that has been shaky throughout the season.

It is easy to see why this could be a boost for Villa, though whether Buendia would play a significant role in any case remains to be seen.

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