The new Premier League season kicked off with high hopes for fans all across the country, with Tottenham and Aston Villa being no exception to this. Spurs hosted newly-promoted Villa in their first game of the season at their spanking new stadium, with both sides hoping to scale greater heights in this campaign. Mauricio Pochettino and his Spurs side finally got some much-needed reinforcement over the summer, with the signings of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon providing quality and quantity, while Aston Villa brought in a whopping 12 players and spent over £130 million. Dean Smith was quick to play down any comparisons with Fulham, who went on a similar shopping spree upon promotion last season and were then relegated, but Villa will have to hit the ground running in an extremely competitive division. As for Spurs, Pochettino will hope that his side can now maintain a sustained challenge for the title.
This tactical analysis piece will look at the tactics employed by both sides.
Lineups
Spurs lined up with a diamond in midfield with Harry Winks at the base, Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko at the sides and Erik Lamela at the tip. Lucas Moura and Harry Kane played as the two forwards, while Kyle Walker-Peters started at right-back after the sale of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid. Christian Eriksen was only on the bench, with Jan Vertonghen being left out entirely.
Dean Smith sent his side out in his usual 4-1-4-1 system. New signing Wesley was the lone striker, with debuts also given to Trézéguet, Bjorn Engels and Tom Heaton.
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