Spurs (a) FA Cup Match Pack
- James
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Match Summary
Match: #5811
Season: 2025-26
Matchday: #29
FA Cup Game: #1
Manager Game: #169
Date: Saturday, 10 January 2026
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Kick off: 5.45pm
Manager: Unai Emery | 🇪🇸 | Hondarribia, 2022-
Officials
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistants: Lee Betts & Matthew Wilkes
Fourth Official: Michael Salisbury
VAR is not operated in the FA Cup 3rd Round.
Referee: Craig Pawson | 🏴 | Sheffield & Hallam, 2013-
🕒 28 🟩 W7 🟨 D8 🟥 L13
🕒 28 🟩 W25% 🟨 W29% 🟥 L46% |
Cards: 🟨 58 🟥 1 | 2.11 |
Opposition Cards 🟨 61 | 🟥 2 | 2.25 |
Penalty ⚽ 2 | 🥅 2 |
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟨
Pawson has refereed Villa-Spurs twice before, with both games coming at the Tottenham Stadium and ending in a win apiece.
His last game, however, was one of the worst refereeing performances seen for many a year as he allowed barely concealed GBH from a thuggish Tottenham to go repeatedly unpunished.
This game will be a huge test for Pawson as the Spurs crowd will overreact and bay at any innocuous challenge, especially if Matty Cash plays, an atmosphere in which Pawson struggles to retain balance.
Needless to say, this fixture needed a stronger refereeing appointment than Pawson, and for once, the lack of VAR might be regretted should he repeat the debacle of November 2024.
But Villa should by now be good enough to outplay the opposition with or without competence from the man in the middle.
Fixture History
Villa’s 179th meeting with Spurs.
Total 🕒 178 | 🟩 W63 (35%) | 🟨 D36 (20%) | 🟥 L79 (44%) | ⚽ 243 | 🥅 296 | GD -53
Full Head to Head History: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/aston-villa/tottenham-hotspur
Did you know? Villa have faced Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup on 13 previous occasions, winning 5 but losing 7.
FA Cup 🕒 13 | 🟩 5 | 🟨 1 | 🟥 7 | ⚽ 10 | 🥅 15 | Did you know? Villa's last win came in last season's run to the Semi-Final, beating Spurs 2-1 in the 4th Round. Full Match Report: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/5761
Team News
Emiliano Martínez will miss the game, whilst Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are out, with the former likely to remain on the sidelines until February, but the latter is hopefully set to return before the end of the month.
Tyrone Mings returns to the squad after 14 games out with injury.
Did you know? Marco Bizot will make his 10th appearance for Villa since joining in the Summer of 2025.
Unai Emery:
'He played on Wednesday, knowing he has a small injury, and he [made] the effort to play. The first half he was not feeling good. It was his choice to play the second half, but because [of] the risk, we decided with the doctor to stop him.
'"For him, it's easier to decide not to play, but he played. It was his choice to play the second half, but we decided to stop him."
Alysson misses out but his first Villa squad is close according to Unai:
“Today we will train this afternoon and we expect that he will be ready for tomorrow,
“We will check him in the training session. He has had a few training sessions with us, but he had a small stop because of one small injury. He trained yesterday and he has to adapt in everything.
“We want to try to introduce him as soon as possible in our meetings, in our moments gathering for dinner, lunch, breakfast, getting closer to his teammates.
Returning | 1 |
CB Tyrone Mings | 🏴 |
Injury: Thigh
Absent since: 6 Nov 25
Matches missed to date: 14
Last Update: 6 Jan 2026: “Tyrone and Pau are close but we are going to train now, I don’t know if for tomorrow they’ll be available or not.
Expected return: 10 Jan 2026
Injury | 3 |
CM Ross Barkley | 🏴 |
Injury: Knee
Absent since: 3 Dec 25
Matches missed to date: 9
Last Update: 6 Jan 2026: "And other players – no Barkley, no Guessand, no Amadou."
Expected return: 21 Feb 2026
DM Amadou Onana | 🇧🇪 |
Injury: Thigh
Absent since: 3 Jan 26
Matches missed to date: 3
Last Update: 6 Jan 2026: "And other players – no Barkley, no Guessand, no Amadou."
Expected return: 25 Jan 2026
GK Emiliano Martínez | 🇦🇷 |
Injury: Calf
Absent since: 10 Jan 26
Matches missed to date: 1
Last Update: 8 Jan 2026: "He has a small injury. A small injury. I am not a doctor, but it is in his calf. Now we will check him with the doctor and hopefully in a few days or weeks he will come back ready to play."
Expected return: 25 Jan 2026
Other | 4 |
CF Evann Guessand | 🇨🇮 |
Reason: International Duty, AFCON
Absent since: 27 Nov 25
Matches missed to date: 5
Expected return: 18 Jan 2026
AM Harvey Elliott | 🏴 |
Reason: Not currently being considered for selection
CF Louie Barry 🏴
Returned from loan with injury.
RW Alysson 🇧🇷
Acclimatising to a British winter
Sequences:
Villa's Last 5 Games: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟩 🟨 Tottenham's Last 5 Games: 🟩 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟥
Last 5 vs. Tottenham: 🟥 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟩
Last 5 Away to Tottenham: 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟩 Last 5 FA Cup Games vs. Tottenham: 🟥 🟨 🟩 🟥 🟩
Last 5 FA Cup Games Away to Tottenham: 🟥 🟥 🟥 🟩 🟥
Did you know? Villa have been drawn away to Tottenham for ten of their fourteen meetings in the FA Cup, winning four of the thirteen played.
Did you know? Villa first faced Spurs in the FA Cup in 1903, winning 3-2 at White Hart Lane in what was their first meeting with Tottenham.
Full Match Report: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/526
Did you know? Villa’s last away win to Spurs in the FA Cup came in January 1992.
Manager: Ron Atkinson | 🏴 |
Scorer(s) | Dwight Yorke | 11' |
GK Les Sealey | 🏴 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
LB Bryan Small | 🏴 |
CB Shaun Teale | 🏴 |
CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 |
RB Dariusz Kubicki | 🇵🇱 |
M Kevin Richardson | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🔥 |
M Garry Parker | 🏴 |
W Tony Daley | 🏴 |
CF Cyrille Regis | 🏴 |
CF Dwight Yorke | 🇹🇹 | ⚽ |
Full Match Report: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/4195
The Opposition
North London breeds a strange sort of fan and Spurs' unfaithful probably top the lot across the country. Quick to boo, quick to turn on players and managers, self-combustion is their forte.
With a talented, though angsty manager in Thomas Frank, results needed to flow for the relationship to blossom, they haven't and it hasn't.
Currently sitting 14th in the table, 16 points behind Villa after 21 games, the most unlikely of Champions League teams are once again having a poor season.
Although their European form, albeit against largely weak opposition, is better than in the League they still are way off the pace. Bodø / Glimt (Drew), Copenhagen (Won), Monaco (Drew) and Slavia Prague (Won) have brought Frank some respite but win over Villarreal proved the high point before shipping five to PSG.
Despite the paucity of much of their opponents, it suggests there might be a Cup team threat in there for Villa to be aware of.
In the League Spurs beat City early on but have no other top scalp to their name with their points being gained in games they would have been expecting to win with a €1bn spend.
Prediction
Villa's fifth successive away game in London could throw up a freak Cup result, but aside of a performance like the first 30 minutes of the second-half against Palace, Villa should qualify for the fourth round with room to spare. That's not how football works however, and with the FA Cup their only route to domestic silverware, Spurs could pull off a surprise.
The other unknown is the level to which Unai will alter the line up to give returning and youth players a run out. Domestic cups haven't been kind to Villa in recent years, but neither have Villa been kind to domestic cups.
Play a strong side, hope Craig Pawson doesn't outdo himself, and play at anything like the level we can and progress should be ours.
The Boss
Pre-Match:
“I think we are not showing some doubts. I think we are not feeling we are playing under pressure.
“Premier League, Europa League, when we played Carabao Cup, and tomorrow playing in the FA Cup, each match, I have the responsibility.
“The responsibility for the club history, for the supporters, and for our challenges we have as a professional.”
Unai Emery | 🇪🇸 | Hondarribia, 2022-
🕒 169 | 🟩 | 95 🟨 | 30 🟥 44 | 1.86
Coming into the game, Unai Emery had a 55.56% win rate in the FA Cup, winning five of the nine games he has led Villa in the competition.
With victory that now leaps to 60.00%.
Did you know? The highest FA Cup win rate of any Villa manager is 62.50%
1886-26 George Ramsay | 🏴 | Management Committee: 85 Wins in 136 Games
On This Day
Marco Bizot 🇳🇱 could make his 10th appearance for Villa and first in the FA Cup. Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/marco-bizot
Lamare Bogarde 🇳🇱 could make his 20th start for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/lamare-bogarde
Ian Maatsen 🇳🇱 could make his 30th start for Villa and fifth FA Cup appearance.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/ian-maatsen
Ezri Konsa 🏴 could make his 265th appearance for Villa.
Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/ezri-konsa
John McGinn 🏴 could make his 10th FA Cup appearance for Villa on his 313th appearance for the club. Full Player Profile: https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/john-mcginn
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