Aston Villa edge Tottenham combined XI with Postecoglou desperate for FA Cup victory
Ange Postecoglou’s job might be on the line as Tottenham travel to Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
He needs to stay in this competition but Villa also have a point to prove having struggled massively in domestic cups over the last decade.
As this is the FA Cup tie of the weekend, we have mustered up a combined XI of the two sides.
GK: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Guglielmo Vicario might have given Martinez some competition if he was fit. Antonin Kinsky doesn’t come close to the Aston Villa No. 1.
RB: Pedro Porro (Tottenham)
Porro is a player who is hard to dislike. There were doubts over his ability to play in a back four when Ange Postecoglou replaced Antonio Conte but he has done so at a tremendous level, establishing himself as one of the best right-backs in the world over the last 18 months.
CB: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
There are centre-back injuries galore in this fixture and Villa’s deadline day signing Axel Disasi is cup tied. Including Konsa might have been the easiest decision in this combined XI.
CB: Kevin Danso (Tottenham)
Danso joined Spurs from RC Lens in January after being linked with a move to Wolves and we are basing his inclusion off his reputation and time in France, because he has only played twice for his new club.
READ MORE: Tottenham fixtures ranked by likelihood of resulting in Ange Postecoglou sack
LB: Djed Spence (Tottenham)
Recency bias takes over here as Spurs’ best player in recent weeks Spence gets in over Lucas Digne, who has been decent enough this for Villa this season. He has managed to keep summer signing Ian Maatsen at bay with his consistent performances.
The signing of Spence was an exciting one when it happened in July 2022, but he barely played until last December when an injury crisis forced Postecoglou’s hand.
He has played all across the back four in the last two months and has been impressive in doing so. Spence has surely earned himself a greater role when everyone is fit again – or if everyone is fit again.
CM: Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)
After a difficult start to life at Villa, Tielemans has become one of Unai Emery’s best and most important players.
The Belgian has two goals and six assists in 33 matches across all competitions in 2024/25.
CM: Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa)
It was between Kamara and team-mate Amadou Onana for the other central-midfield spot, with Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur also in with a shout.
There is a strong chance French midfielder Kamara plays centre-back in Sunday’s FA Cup clash due to Emery’s injury issues, but he is in midfield in our combined XI.
AM: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
What a season young Rogers is having for Villa, scoring 10 goals this season – including a crucial one against West Ham in the third round of the FA Cup and a hat-trick against Celtic in the Champions League. He also has a respectable five assists.
RW: Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham)
Kulusevski has dropped off in recent weeks after a period of relentlessly carrying every Spurs player on his back.
He still gets in our team ahead of new Villa signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
LW: Heung-min Son (Tottenham)
Son has been miles off his sensational best this season but there is still a place for him in this team.
The South Korean needs to win the FA Cup as much as Spurs do as a club, because it will be very hard to justify staying at the club for so long to win sod all. What a waste of talent that would be.
ST: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
Watkins might be a doubt for this fixture but he will likely feature, possibly from the bench.
Dominic Solanke is definitely out and Richarlison went off injured in Spurs’ horrendous midweek defeat at Liverpool, meaning Watkins’ main competition was Rashford, who was never getting in ahead of the man Arsenal bid for last month.