Aston Villa injury concern ahead of Tottenham quashed as Unai Emery drops team news hint

Unai Emery says it was always in his mind to give Pau Torres just 45 minutes as he's played three of their last four games. Villa fans were left hearts in their mouths when Torres was replaced at halftime against Ajax in the Conference League.

Villa drew 0-0 with the Dutch giants in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday night and will face them in the second leg at Villa Park next Thursday night.

Emery was asked what the situation was about his 27-year-old defender ahead of this weekend's game, and he said: "He had a small injury two weeks ago. We made a plan with him. I think tactically as well we needed to change something. The plan was to play 45 minutes with Pau Torres."

Torres himself took to Instagram to provide an update: “All to play for next week at Villa Park." alongside a team picture taken before kick-off.

Tottenham face a different challenge

Tottenham crashed out of the League Cup and FA Cup at the early stage and their strong start to the season has somewhat faded. But they're still in with a chance to finish in the Champions League and take on a side who currently occupy that spot with just five points separating them in fifth and Villa in fourth.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed the goodwill of a massive start to the campaign but securing Champions League football for next season will be seen as a fantastic effort. But Villa is one of the most impressive sides in the league, they have lost six league games all season- only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have lost fewer games in the league.