Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa has been rescheduled to Friday night, ahead of their crucial match against Manchester United at the San Mames on May 21. Originally set for Sunday, May 18, Spurs requested the change to allow more preparation time for the final. Despite Aston Villa’s objections to moving the match to Thursday, the Premier League decided on a Friday night slot. This change coincides with Manchester United’s clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. As Spurs gear up for the final, manager Ange Postecoglou plans to increase Son Heung-min’s playing time following his return from injury. However, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison are expected to miss the rest of the season.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I don’t know if you saw training but we had Reguilon slide tackling Brennan Johnson and they were on the same team! It seems to be how our season has gone. You want to protect the integrity of training. Thankfully nothing too serious. We just have to hope and pray to the football gods. We’ve got enough injuries, I’m putting them in cotton wool for the next 10 days. From a physical standpoint, [Son] is good. It’s important he got some minutes yesterday, more for himself psychologically. He had a good session today, but didn’t do the whole session because he played yesterday. He feels good and we’ve got eight or nine days to go. We can build him up. We’ll get him some minutes on Friday against Villa and if he trains right through he’ll be OK. He’s worked hard to get back. It’s a bit of a funny injury. It was just how he progressed and how he felt. He was a bit sore this morning with his knee. It looks like a knock at this stage but we’re going to let it settle for the next 24 hours and see. The initial feeling is it was more of a knock than anything significant. We’ve obviously lost Madders and Bergvall in the last two weeks. Yesterday I had three players to back-up and they were all only going to play 45 minutes — it’s sod’s law that one of them gets injured. So he is important but right now, they’re all important. The thing with Deki is that he’s missed some football but he was just getting back into it, there were some really promising signs at Bodo. He started to show some of that real attacking creativity. Then he gets injured. He is important so fingers crossed he’s OK.”
The decision to reschedule the match reflects Tottenham’s strategic planning as they aim to optimize their squad’s readiness for the upcoming final. Son Heung-min’s return is a positive sign for Spurs, offering a boost to their attacking options. However, the absence of key players like Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison due to injuries poses a challenge for Postecoglou. The manager’s remarks highlight the team’s ongoing struggles with injuries, emphasizing the importance of managing player fitness carefully in the lead-up to the final.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, will look to capitalize on any potential weaknesses in the Spurs lineup as they aim to secure a top-five finish this season. The Friday night fixture promises to be a pivotal encounter for both teams, with significant implications for their respective campaigns.
