This is now Unai Emery's strongest XI as Aston Villa recent progress to be tested by Tottenham

Aston Villa are positioned in 13th place in the Premier League table and have nine points on the board from their first seven fixtures. The Midlands outfit are back in action this weekend with an away trip down to London to face Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur. Their upcoming opponents are sat in third in the league behind Arsenal and Liverpool.

Unai Emery’s side have started to hit some form now following a slow start to the season by their standards. They beat Burnley 2-1 at home in their last league outing before the international break. Attacker Donyell Malen managed to get himself on the scoresheet twice against the Clarets. Here is a look at Emery’s strongest XI as they prepare to play Spurs....

Aston Villa goalkeeper and defence

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez stayed put over the summer despite links to Manchester United. He has been his current team’s number one since joining them back in 2020 from Arsenal. The Argentina international, who won the World Cup in 2022, has been a good servant to the club.

Matty Cash likes to get up and down the right flank of defence, with Lucas Digne doing the same on the other side. The latter injects useful experience into Emery’s line-up and has played over 450 games so far in his career. He faces a battle for his position from Ian Maatsen.

In the heart of defence, Ezri Konsa is becoming a key player for both Aston Villa and England. He can play at right-back as well if needed and his versatility comes in very handy. Pau Torres is then set to get the nod again ahead of Victor Lindelof with Tyrone Mings injured.

Aston Villa midfield and attack

Youri Tielemans remains sidelined for Aston Villa which isn’t ideal. However, his absence provides an opportunity for both Boubakar Kamara and John McGinn to feature. Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are other options in the middle of the park as well.

McGinn, 30, has three goals already to his name in this campaign. The Scotsman has been playing his football in the Midlands since 2018. Prior to his move to England, he caught the eye above the border with St Mirren and Hibernian.

Evann Guessand hasn’t quite got going yet for Aston Villa but has plenty of time on his side. He will be eager to start against Spurs ahead of the likes of Harvey Elliott and Emi Buendia. The attacker caught the eye in France with OGC Nice before his switch in the last transfer window.

Emery is poised to select Morgan Rogers again as he eyes his first league goal. Malen should also play from the off again after causing Burnley all sorts of problems in their last match. He joined back in January from Borussia Dortmund and he has taken a while to get going.

Up front, Ollie Watkins will play if he is fit. He returned home from England duty early after suffering an injury against Wales. The striker collided with the goalpost and will now need to be assessed.

Aston Villa’s strongest XI vs Spurs: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; McGinn, Kamara; Guessand, Rogers, Malen; Watkins