Ange Postecoglou has the perfect Tottenham replacement for Micky van de Ven(Image: (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images))

Ange Postecoglou can finally unleash Tottenham star vs Aston Villa and it's not Mikey Moore

01 Nov 2024, 16:12 by Kieran Horn · football.london

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is facing at least two big decisions for Sunday's Premier League clash against Aston Villa. Spurs bounced back from defeat at Crystal Palace in the best possible way with a Carabao Cup triumph over Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Focus has returned to the league now with the Lilywhites back on home soil as Unai Emery's Villa travel down to north London. A victory on Sunday afternoon will be of high importance to Postecoglou especially with Spurs' inconsistencies at the forefront after the last seven days.

"Like I said, being strong in the way we want to play our football and we have been apart from that Palace game," Postecoglou said in his Friday press conference. "We didn't really address the challenge in front of us in the way we should, every other game I think we've done that. Yes, we lost at Newcastle but I thought we played well that day.

"We lost at Brighton, pretty evident a poor second half cost us there. But the Palace game was one where we needed to do things close to what we do, so that’s all we can do, focus on things that are important to us." Captain Son Heung-min returning from injury will be key to that, with hope he can feature against Villa.

However, against Man City in the cup, Micky van de Ven picked up a new hamstring injury with Postecoglou issuing fitness updates on both. "The main one is Micky and he has sort of strained a hamstring. It is not too serious but probably after the international break for him," he admitted on Friday.

"Sonny has trained today so if he gets through training tomorrow, he should be okay." All things are pointing to Son being in the starting XI on Sunday afternoon with Mikey Moore back on the bench after making his first Premier League start against Palace.

If Postecoglou deems Son cannot feature prominently though, it will likely be Moore that is deployed on the left with Wilson Odobert having suffered an injury setback and Timo Wener limping off in the week. However, there will be a guaranteed change at the back with Van de Ven set to miss out and Radu Dragusin his most likely replacement.

The Romania international has been forced to wait patiently for opportunities, and despite limited game time, he was excellent against Man City. A sending off in the Europa League derailed his minutes but that looks set to pick up significantly with Van de Ven to be absent seemingly for the next three games at least.

Dragusin now looks to have 180 minutes to prove his worth in the Premier League alongside possible further appearances in cup competitions and the Europa League. If he can repeat his display against Pep Guardiola's side, Postecoglou will be dealt quite the dilemma, or perhaps dream scenario, when Van de Ven returns.

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