Aston Villa vs Tottenham: How Ange Postecoglou’s point haul compares to top six rivals

Race for Champions League 

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While Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City is understandably gaining all the attention, there’s another massive game in the English Premier League this weekend. Aston Villa host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon in a pivotal fixture in the race for the top four. 

Although fifth place will likely earn a Champions League place this season due to two extra places being awarded based on nation’s coefficient points, Villa and Tottenham are battling for fourth position. Villa currently hold that position with a five-point advantage over Spurs but Ange Postecoglou’s men have a game in hand and Unai Emery’s side also remain in European competition. Manchester United’s Champions League aspirations are remote with Villa and Tottenham expected to secure qualification for the pinnacle competition in European football. Tottenham have been transformed under Postecoglou’s guidance with his attacking philosophy resonating with the Spurs support but how does his first 26 league games at Spurs compare to the other current top six managers?

Top six managers: Most points after 26 games in Premier League careers

Remarkably, the two managers in the dugouts at Villa Park on Sunday have identical records in their first 26 Premier League fixtures. Postecoglou has collected 50 points with Spurs having a positive goal difference of 16 and that matches Emery. The Spaniard joined Arsenal from PSG ahead of the 2018/19 season and he also accumulated 50 points with an identical goal difference after scoring 53 goals and conceding 27. 

As the graphic above shows, Pep Guardiola, unsurprisingly, has the best record in his first 26 games in England of all the current top six managers. Guardiola picked up 53 points in 2016/17 after 26 games but that only had Manchester City in fourth place with Chelsea ten points ahead of them. Erik ten Hag ranks second after collecting 52 points last season but Manchester United had eight less points on board by the same stage this season. Jürgen Klopp ranks below Postecoglou and Emery on 44 points with Mikel Arteta last on the list with 42 points. Klopp and Arteta, however, were appointed during the season and didn’t enjoy the benefit of pre-season to install their tactical plans or the benefit of the transfer window to alter their squad. 

Top six managers: Points accumulated after 26 games in first full season in Premier League

There are contrasting numbers when you analyse the points totals after Klopp and Arteta had their first pre-seasons at Liverpool and Arsenal. As the graphic above shows, Klopp picked up five more points in his first full season at Anfield as opposed to his first 26 games after replacing Brendan Rodgers in October 2015. Conversely, Arteta picked up five less points after 26 games in his first full season than after succeeding legendary boss Arsène Wenger. Arsenal embarked on an impressive run immediately after Arteta’s appointment, losing just once in their first nine league games, before their form tailed off and that continued into the start of the 2020/21 season. Arteta’s initial struggles show the importance of patience in football and backing the manager as he’s developed Arsenal impressively and they are now embroiled in a three-way title race. 

Aston Villa vs Tottenham: Watkins inspired Emery’s men to victory 

Villa claimed an important 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in November. Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring but Pau Torres equalised on the stroke of half-time before Ollie Watkins fired home a second-half winner. But context is imperative as Tottenham were without several key players including first choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. Full-backs Emerson and Ben Davies deputised for the influential duo, while midfielders Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr also missed out. Villa and Tottenham both enter Sunday’s encounter in similar form with the hosts picking up 12 points from their last six games and Postecoglou’s side collecting one less. 

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