By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-19 14:22:38 | Updated at 2026-09-19 15:39:41
1 hour ago
Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off ended up being quite the treat. Look back on the game with our Tottenham vs Aston Villa stats page.
Tottenham finally ended their wait for a Premier League goal this season, but it meant little as they slumped to a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa.
Saturday’s contest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw the two teams with the lowest cumulative expected goals (xG) totals in 2026-27 face off.
Although Villa did beat Coventry City 3-0 in the EFL Cup in midweek, they went into this game having only netted once in the top flight this term.
Spurs, meanwhile, lost at Liverpool in their Tuesday cup outing, and while they started brightly against Villa, Roberto De Zerbi’s team slumped to a loss that could well see them head into the international break at the bottom of the table.
Sávio forced three saves out of Zion Suzuki early on, but in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Villa capitalised on Micky van de Ven having to go off temporarily after receiving treatment on a cut below his eye.
John McGinn seized on Andy Robertson’s botched clearance before teeing up Boubacar Kamara, whose scruffy shot was turned in by Johan Manzambi for his first Premier League goal.
Half-time substitute Mohammed Kudus thought he had ended Spurs’ scoreless streak just before the hour, but Robertson had strayed offside in the build-up.
Manzambi then became just the second player to both score and assist on their first Premier League start for Villa, after Kevin Phillips against Bolton Wanderers in August 2005. He flicked on for Nicolas Jackson in the 67th minute, with the former Chelsea striker beating Van de Ven and firing off a shot that Kinsky failed to keep out.
Emiliano Buendía kept up his fine record against Spurs with a 79th-minute stunner, though Conor Gallagher finally opened the hosts’ goal account when he nudged in from Kudus’ cutback.
Spurs doubled up deep in stoppage time when Robertson crossed in for Jan Paul van Hecke to head home, but that was the final act of another disappointing day for De Zerbi’s side.
Dr. Tottenham Has the Remedy for Villa
While Spurs have been under plenty of scrutiny following their transfer splurge this summer, Villa went into this game trailing their hosts in the table.
However, having withstood the early pressure, Villa really came into their own once Manzambi marked his full debut in style.
They were clinical on the counter-attack in the second half, and Spurs’ defence was found wanting for Jackson’s strike, which was his first in the Premier League since April 2025, and his fifth overall in the competition against Tottenham.
Buendía then put the icing on the cake with a sublime finish from 25 yards out, which the Argentine sent swerving into the top-left corner.
He has scored in each of his previous four games against Tottenham in all competitions, while four of his six most recent Premier League goals have been outside the box, with only Leeds United’s Anton Stach (five) scoring more from distance since the beginning of last season.
Spurs’ scoreless run may be over, but they have now lost 50 of their 141 Premier League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as many defeats as Arsenal have suffered in 382 top-flight matches at the Emirates Stadium.
Villa, meanwhile, have won five of their last seven Premier League away games against Spurs. This particular visit proved timely for Unai Emery.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Tottenham vs Aston Villa stats from Saturday’s Premier League meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Tottenham vs Aston Villa: Post-Match Opta Facts
- Five of Nicolas Jackson’s 25 Premier League goals have come against Tottenham Hotspur, netting more against Spurs in the competition than any other side.
- Conor Gallagher’s goal ended a run of 492 Premier League minutes without scoring for Tottenham, while their first league goal of 2026-27 came with their 67th shot.
- This is Spurs’ worst start to a Premier League season after five games, with two points and a goal difference of -6, eclipsing their 2008-09 start (2 points, -3 goal difference).
- Only Chelsea (7) have more wins over Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions than Aston Villa (W6 L3), winning on each of their last three visits since the start of last season.
- Tottenham have now lost 22 home league games since the start of 2024-25, just one fewer than in their previous four seasons combined (23).
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