Date:26 Dec 2010
Kick-off:17:30
Venue:Villa Park
Attendance:39,411

Albrighton (81)
Van der Vaart (22) Van der Vaart (66)

Goal!

Live Commentary

94mins Unfair challenge on Jermaine Jenas by Marc Albrighton results in a free kick. Michael Dawson takes the direct free kick.

The referee brings the game to a close.

94mins Robert Pires sends in a cross, Peter Crouch manages to make a clearance.

94mins The ball is swung over by Stewart Downing, blocked by Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

93mins Vedran Corluka joins the action as a substitute, replacing Luka Modric.

92mins Booking for Heurelho Gomes.

92mins Luka Modric is shown a yellow card. Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Eric Lichaj by Luka Modric. Brad Friedel restarts play with the free kick. Effort from inside the six-yard box by Eric Lichaj goes wide right of the target.

91mins Stiliyan Petrov takes a shot. Heurelho Gomes makes a save.

89mins Jermaine Jenas gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Robert Pires. Free kick taken by James Collins.

89mins Jermaine Jenas concedes a free kick for a foul on Robert Pires. Direct free kick taken by James Collins.

89mins The ball is crossed by Eric Lichaj.

89mins The ball is sent over by Eric Lichaj.

87mins Jermaine Jenas on for Aaron Lennon.

87mins Gabriel Agbonlahor booked. Aaron Lennon fouled by Marc Albrighton, the ref awards a free kick. Gareth Bale shoots direct from the free kick.

86mins Wilson Palacios gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Robert Pires. Carlos Cuellar takes the direct free kick.

85mins Stiliyan Petrov takes a shot from deep inside the box clearing the bar.

81mins Marc Albrighton scores agoal from 35 yards to to the bottom right corner of the goal. Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham.The assist for the goal came from Stephen Warnock.

83mins Corner taken right-footed by Marc Albrighton, save made by Heurelho Gomes. Stewart Downing takes a shot. Wilson Palacios gets a block in.

83mins The ball is sent over by Stewart Downing, Michael Dawson makes a clearance.

83mins Unfair challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor by Younes Kaboul results in a free kick. Stewart Downing takes the free kick.

81mins Marc Albrighton grabs a goal. Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham.The ball is crossed by Marc Albrighton, Stephen Warnock provided the assist for the goal.

81mins Gabriel Agbonlahor sends in a cross, Eric Lichaj takes a shot. Benoit Assou-Ekotto gets a block in.

80mins The assistant referee flags for offside against James Collins. Heurelho Gomes restarts play with the free kick.

79mins Stewart Downing crosses the ball, clearance by Alan Hutton.

78mins Alan Hutton is booked. Marc Albrighton fouled by Alan Hutton, the ref awards a free kick. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Stiliyan Petrov from left wing, Benoit Assou-Ekotto manages to make a clearance.

76mins Eric Lichaj has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the right of the target.

75mins Gabriel Agbonlahor takes a shot. Save made by Heurelho Gomes. Corner taken right-footed by Marc Albrighton, save made by Heurelho Gomes.

75mins Marc Albrighton sends in a cross, clearance made by Michael Dawson.

73mins Robert Pires is brought on as a substitute for Fabian Delph. Stiliyan Petrov takes a shot. Blocked by Luka Modric. Marc Albrighton sends in a cross, clearance made by Michael Dawson. Rafael Van der Vaart concedes a free kick for a foul on Fabian Delph. Rafael Van der Vaart leaves the field to be replaced by Peter Crouch. Free kick crossed left-footed by Stewart Downing, Peter Crouch makes a clearance.

73mins Robert Pires comes on in place of Fabian Delph. Stiliyan Petrov takes a shot. Blocked by Luka Modric. Marc Albrighton produces a cross, clearance made by Michael Dawson. Free kick awarded for a foul by Rafael Van der Vaart on Fabian Delph. Rafael Van der Vaart leaves the field to be replaced by Peter Crouch. Stewart Downing crosses the ball in from the free kick, Luka Modric makes a clearance.

72mins Corner taken right-footed by Marc Albrighton from the left by-line to the near post, clearance made by Heurelho Gomes.

72mins Stephen Warnock produces a cross, save by Heurelho Gomes. Marc Albrighton sends in a cross, blocked by Aaron Lennon. The ball is crossed by Marc Albrighton, clearance by Michael Dawson.

71mins Gabriel Agbonlahor takes a shot. Comfortable save by Heurelho Gomes.

69mins Luka Modric takes a shot. Blocked by James Collins.

69mins Aaron Lennon takes a shot. James Collins gets a block in. Short corner taken by Rafael Van der Vaart.

66mins Rafael Van der Vaart scores a goal from the edge of the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham.Assist by Aaron Lennon.

68mins The ball is delivered by Eric Lichaj, clearance made by Younes Kaboul.

65mins Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Luka Modric, James Collins makes a clearance.

64mins Unfair challenge on Rafael Van der Vaart by Eric Lichaj results in a free kick. Rafael Van der Vaart takes the direct free kick.

62mins The ball is sent over by Stewart Downing, Header from deep inside the area by Carlos Cuellar goes over the bar.

62mins Nathan Delfouneso sends in a cross, save by Heurelho Gomes. Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Stewart Downing played to the near post, Gareth Bale makes a clearance.

60mins Stephen Warnock sends in a cross, clearance made by Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

59mins The ball is delivered by Nathan Delfouneso, Benoit Assou-Ekotto gets a block in. Marc Albrighton takes a outswinging corner to the near post, clearance by Gareth Bale.

57mins Stewart Downing crosses the ball, Header by Carlos Cuellar from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the target.

57mins Stewart Downing takes a outswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, Michael Dawson manages to make a clearance. The ball is sent over by Marc Albrighton, Younes Kaboul manages to make a clearance.

57mins Marc Albrighton crosses the ball, clearance by Alan Hutton.

56mins Rafael Van der Vaart produces a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses left.

55mins Caution for Fabian Delph. Unfair challenge on Rafael Van der Vaart by Fabian Delph results in a free kick. Rafael Van der Vaart takes the direct free kick.

54mins Fabian Delph produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that misses to the left of the goal. Unfair challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto by Marc Albrighton results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Younes Kaboul.

53mins Fabian Delph produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide left of the goal. Unfair challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto by Marc Albrighton results in a free kick. Younes Kaboul restarts play with the free kick.

53mins Fabian Delph produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide left of the target. Marc Albrighton challenges Benoit Assou-Ekotto unfairly and gives away a free kick. Younes Kaboul restarts play with the free kick.

53mins A cross is delivered by Marc Albrighton. Stewart Downing crosses the ball, clearance by Wilson Palacios.

51mins The referee blows for offside against Rafael Van der Vaart. Indirect free kick taken by Brad Friedel.

50mins Gareth Bale delivers the ball, clearance by James Collins.

49mins Nathan Delfouneso takes a shot. Save by Heurelho Gomes.

49mins Unfair challenge on Stiliyan Petrov by Wilson Palacios results in a free kick. Fabian Delph takes the free kick.

48mins Eric Lichaj sends in a cross, Carlos Cuellar takes a shot. Comfortable save by Heurelho Gomes.

48mins The ball is swung over by Stephen Warnock, clearance by Younes Kaboul.

47mins Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Marc Albrighton from the right by-line to the near post.

47mins A cross is delivered by Marc Albrighton, Benoit Assou-Ekotto gets a block in.

46mins Rafael Van der Vaart fouled by James Collins, the ref awards a free kick. Michael Dawson takes the free kick.

45mins Stephen Warnock sends in a cross, clearance by Younes Kaboul.

The second half has started.

45mins Stiliyan Petrov comes on in place of Jonathan Hogg.

The match has reached half-time.

42mins Stephen Warnock delivers the ball, clearance by Michael Dawson.

41mins Aaron Lennon produces a cross, clearance made by Carlos Cuellar.

41mins Foul by Nathan Delfouneso on Alan Hutton, free kick awarded. Michael Dawson takes the direct free kick.

40mins Nathan Delfouneso takes a shot from just outside the penalty area which clears the crossbar.

38mins Nathan Delfouneso joins the action as a substitute, replacing Emile Heskey.

38mins Shot from outside the penalty box by Stewart Downing goes wide right of the goal.

37mins The ball is crossed by Stewart Downing, clearance by Michael Dawson.

36mins Effort from the edge of the penalty box by Wilson Palacios goes wide of the right-hand upright.

36mins A cross is delivered by Stewart Downing.

36mins Wilson Palacios has an effort at goal from just inside the box that misses to the right of the target.

34mins The referee books Jonathan Hogg for unsporting behaviour. Foul by Jonathan Hogg on Luka Modric, free kick awarded. Heurelho Gomes takes the direct free kick.

33mins Marc Albrighton gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Rafael Van der Vaart takes the free kick. Younes Kaboul takes a shot. Save made by Brad Friedel.

32mins Foul by Wilson Palacios on Jonathan Hogg, free kick awarded. Carlos Cuellar restarts play with the free kick.

30mins The ball is crossed by Stewart Downing, Effort from inside the area by Marc Albrighton misses to the left of the target.

30mins A cross is delivered by Stewart Downing, save by Heurelho Gomes.

28mins Centre by Gabriel Agbonlahor, Headed effort from inside the area by Emile Heskey misses to the right of the target.

26mins Jermain Defoe sent off. Unfair challenge on James Collins by Jermain Defoe results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by James Collins.

26mins The ball is swung over by Marc Albrighton, Younes Kaboul makes a clearance.

25mins Michael Dawson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Emile Heskey. James Collins delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from left channel, Younes Kaboul makes a clearance.

24mins Foul by Stephen Warnock on Aaron Lennon, free kick awarded. Rafael Van der Vaart delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from right channel, clearance made by James Collins. Outswinging corner taken by Rafael Van der Vaart, save made by Brad Friedel.

22mins Rafael Van der Vaart finds the back of the net with a goal from inside the six-yard box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Aston Villa 0-1 Tottenham.Alan Hutton provided the assist for the goal.

21mins A cross is delivered by Aaron Lennon, Rafael Van der Vaart produces a left-footed shot from the edge of the area and misses to the left of the goal.

21mins Marc Albrighton takes a shot. Save made by Heurelho Gomes.

20mins The ball is sent over by Younes Kaboul, Stewart Downing makes a clearance.

18mins The ball is swung over by Fabian Delph. The ball is delivered by Stewart Downing, clearance made by Younes Kaboul.

18mins Stewart Downing delivers the ball.

18mins Corner taken left-footed by Stewart Downing to the near post, save by Heurelho Gomes. The ball is sent over by Stewart Downing, clearance by Younes Kaboul.

17mins Gabriel Agbonlahor takes a shot. Save made by Heurelho Gomes. Gabriel Agbonlahor takes a shot. Heurelho Gomes makes a save.

14mins Stewart Downing takes a shot. Save by Heurelho Gomes. Eric Lichaj challenges Gareth Bale unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick crossed by Rafael Van der Vaart.

12mins Centre by Marc Albrighton, Benoit Assou-Ekotto gets a block in. The ball is swung over by Marc Albrighton, Younes Kaboul makes a clearance.

12mins The ball is sent over by Stephen Warnock, clearance by Michael Dawson.

10mins Corner taken left-footed by Rafael Van der Vaart from the right by-line, Luka Modric takes a shot. Blocked by James Collins.

10mins Jermain Defoe takes a shot. Carlos Cuellar gets a block in.

9mins The ball is crossed by Gareth Bale.

8mins A cross is delivered by Marc Albrighton, save by Heurelho Gomes.

6mins Jonathan Hogg challenges Rafael Van der Vaart unfairly and gives away a free kick. A cross is delivered by Rafael Van der Vaart, Header from deep inside the area by Gareth Bale goes over the bar.

3mins Jermain Defoe takes a shot. Brad Friedel makes a save.

2mins Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Wilson Palacios by Marc Albrighton. Free kick taken by Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

1mins Gabriel Agbonlahor produces a header from the edge of the box and misses to the right of the target.

Marc Albrighton takes a shot. Save by Heurelho Gomes. Marc Albrighton takes a shot. Benoit Assou-Ekotto gets a block in.

Younes Kaboul gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor. Eric Lichaj takes the direct free kick.

The referee gets the game started.

Match Preview

Houllier focussed on festive fixtures Gerard Houllier is not letting the prospect of strengthening his squad distract him as he prepares his Aston Villa squad for a daunting festive schedule. The midlands club welcome Champions League upstarts Tottenham to Villa Park on Boxing Day before trips to high-flying Manchester City and Chelsea round off the Christmas fixtures. With games against in-form Sunderland and local rivals Birmingham on the horizon, as well as an FA Cup clash at Sheffield United, speculation is rife as to how Houllier, who joined the club after the summer transfer window had closed, will choose to alter his squad. However, the Frenchman said: "At the moment I'm focused on the games. If you want to talk about Tottenham, I'm quite happy to do it. "If you want to talk about even the game after, I'm quite happy to do it because two days later we play Manchester city at their place so I think the most important thing is to get points. We have 20 points which is not enough. "Mind you, you could say easily for those who've followed our games we could have five or six points more. Then we'd be probably in seventh or eighth position. "Unfortunately we've dropped points, sometimes in a silly way, and now we've got to refocus on the 21 games that are left to play." The major positive for Houllier as he heads into such a hectic period is that his injuries problems are quickly receding. The postponement of last weekend's game at Wigan gave Ashley and Luke Young time to recover from injuries, while long-term casualties Stiliyan Petrov and Fabian Delph are both back in full training. Both Delph and Petrov have an outside chance of being on the bench against Spurs. One player who will not be involved, though, is Steve Sidwell, who is on the brink of a move to West Ham. Rafael van der Vaart has warned his Tottenham team-mates that they risk losing ground in their push for a top-four finish unless they start to improve their record against the league's weaker teams. Spurs head into the festive period in fifth position on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions, which stretches back to the start of November. The Londoners' outlook could have been much brighter had they not been defeated by the likes of West Ham and Wigan, both of whom sit inside the relegation zone. Van der Vaart has been encouraged by Spurs' performances in the draws against big teams like Manchester City and Chelsea and the win over bitter rivals Arsenal, but insists the team must beat the division's poorer teams in order to ensure they qualify for next year's Champions League. Looking ahead to Spurs' games against Aston Villa, Newcastle, Fulham and Everton over the festive period, the Dutchman said: "We have to win our games and have confidence that we will be in the top four. "It will be hard work. There are a lot of good teams but we play well against the big teams and some of the small clubs we have our problems." Harry Redknapp's assistant Kevin Bond is also aware of the damage that could be done by a dip in form over the next two weeks and has challenged the team to extend their unbeaten run. "If we could go through that Christmas and New Year period unbeaten that would be great," said Bond. "That would keep us there or thereabouts and they are all games you would hope to get something from. "With so many games coming over a short space of time, if you don't get some decent results then you can take yourself out of the running and we can't afford to do that so we need to keep at it." Van der Vaart will be available at Villa Park having recovered from the hamstring injury which has sidelined him for the past three weeks. Fellow midfielder Jermaine Jenas (calf) and defender Younes Kaboul (hip) will also be fit. Centre-half William Gallas will undergo a fitness test to see if he has fully recovered from the hamstring injury he picked up a fortnight ago. Ledley King (groin) has trained this week but is not fit enough to play.

Formation:442Manager: Gerard Houllier

Aston Villa

Formation: 4411Manager: Harry Redknapp

Tottenham

Brad Friedel
Eric Lichaj
James Collins
Carlos Cuellar
Stephen Warnock
Marc Albrighton
Fabian Delph
Jonathan Hogg
Stewart Downing
Emile Heskey
Gabriel Agbonlahor
SUBS
Bradley Guzan
Robert Pires
Nathan Delfouneso
Stiliyan Petrov
Nigel Reo-Coker
Ciaran Clark
Barry Bannan

Home

Away

Heurelho Gomes
Alan Hutton
Younes Kaboul
Michael Dawson
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Aaron Lennon
Wilson Palacios
Luka Modric
Gareth Bale
Rafael Van der Vaart
Jermain Defoe
SUBS
Carlo Cudicini
Jermaine Jenas
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Peter Crouch
Sebastien Bassong
Niko Kranjcar
Vedran Corluka

Match Report

Van the man as Redknapp continues Villa hold Tottenham's talismanic midfielder Rafael van der Vaart ensured that manager Harry Redknapp maintained his hoodoo over Aston Villa with a 2-1 win. Despite a 27th-minute straight red card for Jermain Defoe, the Dutch midfielder scored either side of that to take his tally to double figures for the season, with Spurs unbeaten in each of the eight games in which he has scored. Although Marc Albrighton pulled one back eight minutes from time, it was not enough to spare the home side, with Redknapp unbeaten in his last 10 Barclays Premier League games as a manager against Villa. From the opening minute, the suggestion was that this was going to be an entertaining affair, as has often been the case between these two teams of late, and so it proved. After just 50 seconds, Heurelho Gomes produced the first of a number of fine saves to deny Villa, initially from Albrighton who was then quick to pounce on the rebound, only for Gareth Bale to bravely block. After Gabriel Agbonlahor had nodded a free header wide a minute later, there was perhaps the sense it was not going to be Villa's night. That view was strengthened when Villa appealed for a penalty in the ninth minute when Emile Heskey was felled by Gomes, but it was such a tight call it was no wonder referee Martin Atkinson was unmoved. It was a challenge that left Heskey needing treatment and ultimately led to his withdrawal six minutes from the break. Earlier, Heskey and Agbonlahor had spread play from one wing to the other where Stewart Downing strode forward, cut inside and unleashed a low drive that was picked up by Gomes. Then it was Heskey who played a delightful one-two with Agbonlahor, the latter eventually unleashing a stinging drive that bounced off a diving Gomes' knee. The ball looped up for Agbonlahor to nod goalwards, but again Gomes was on hand to push the ball around the post. In between, a strike from Younes Kaboul was ruled out by an assistant referee as he deemed a pull back from Alan Hutton had crossed the deadball line, although replays suggested otherwise. In the 23rd minute, however, Tottenham's frustration was forgotten as a sweeping move cut Villa apart, sparked by a raking cross-field ball from Bale into the path of Hutton down the right wing. James Collins, serving as Villa's fifth captain of the season with Ashley Young out with a knee injury, failed to cut out the right-back's low centre and Van der Vaart was in behind the centre-back to fire home from 10 yards. The visitors' joy was shortlived because just four minutes later they were contentiously down to 10 men for an elbow from Defoe in the face of Collins. It appeared to be harsh because although Defoe led with his arm in jumping for a high delivery, his eyes were focused on the ball at the time. It left Spurs facing the final 63 minutes a man short, and for the first 18 of those through to half-time they were rarely troubled. They could have doubled their lead prior to the interval as Van der Vaart teed up Wilson Palacios for a 20-yard effort which Brad Friedel tipped into the sidenetting. Apart from an early second-half strike from Heskey's replacement, Nathan Delfouneso, which stung the fingers of Gomes, Spurs easily held out until breaking with devastating effect in the 67th minute. That was sparked by an 80-yard run down the right from Bale, who found Aaron Lennon in space on the left. The winger played a simple pass into Van der Vaart's path for a first-time left-foot shot beyond Friedel. After Gomes had produced his save of the game from Agbonlahor nine minutes later, an 82nd-minute cross from Albrighton floated past the Spurs goalkeeper, who was arguably distracted by a diving Collins in front of him. There was no late reprieve for Villa and manager Gerard Houllier, though, who departed the field to a chorus of boos from the home fans.

Form Guide

WDLLLW Aston Villa VS Tottenham DWWWDD

Last Meetings

Tottenham 2 - 1 Aston Villa 02/10/2010 Tottenham 0 - 0 Aston Villa 06/02/2010 Aston Villa 1 - 1 Tottenham 28/11/2009 Aston Villa 1 - 2 Tottenham 15/03/2009 Tottenham 1 - 2 Aston Villa 15/09/2008 Aston Villa 2 - 1 Tottenham 01/01/2008

Top Scorers

Aston Villa S Downing 5 M Albrighton 3 E Heskey 2 C Clark 2 L Young 1 S Petrov 1 J Collins 1 A Young 1 N Delfouneso 1 Tottenham R Pavlyuchenko 5 G Bale 5 R Van der Vaart 4 A Hutton 2 P Crouch 1 T Huddlestone 1 A Lennon 1 L Modric 1 Y Kaboul 1 S Bassong 1

Goals

Aston Villa Total goals 47 Goals per game 19 1 (For) Period 0-10 mins 3 (For) 3 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 3 (For) 1 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 2 (For) 4 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 1 (For) 4 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 2 (For) 3 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 3 (For) 2 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 2 (For) 9 (Against) Period 81-90 mins Tottenham Total goals 53 Goals per game 25 (For) 1 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 5 (For) 2 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 2 (For) 4 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 3 (For) 3 (Against) Period 41-50 mins (For) 1 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 5 (For) 2 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 4 (For) 3 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 5 (For) 4 (Against) Period 81-90 mins