Tottenham take on Aston Villa on Sunday in what should certainly be a much changed atmosphere at White Hart Lane to that at the start of the season. Fresh from their first victory in 23 years at Manchester United and on a run of three straight wins in the Premier League, the mood both within the camp and amongst the supporters will be buoyant. Aston Villa arrive in north London after salvaging a draw against local rivals West Brom last week in the latest chapter of what has been an underwhelming start to their league campaign under Paul Lambert.

A man likely to be in the spotlight is Villa and former Spurs forward Darren Bent, who started on the bench last week before scoring the late equalizer that earned his side a point. Bent has rebuilt his reputation as a proven goal scorer at this level after being allowed to leave the London club for Sunderland in the summer of 2009.  In spite of finishing the season with 17 goals, the striker had suffered bouts of poor form in front of goal including some inexplicable misses, one of which prompted manager Harry Redknapp to claim that even his wife would have scored. Likely to start for Villa in this game ahead of summer recruit Benteke to complete his return from injury, expect Bent to be determined to prove a point against his former employers, and might be a decent bet to score first if his side start well and take advantage of any potential Europa League hangover from the home side.

Tottenham’s trip to play Panathanaikos this week will have meant much less preparation time than their opponents. This is, however, Aston Villa’s only real avenue for optimism. Spurs are unbeaten thus far at home and seem to be gradually approaching their best form under Andre Villas Boas. Often lethargic and fragile early this season, their first half performance at Old Trafford last week was reminicient of some of their great displays against the likes of Inter Milan under Redknapp. Tottenham play at their best when they attack teams at pace and isolate speedsters Lennon and Bale in space against a single full back, and both were responsible for devasting thrusts deep into United territory within the opening 20minutes. Bale is a great bet to score at anytime, especially now he has inherited set-piece responsibilities from the departed Rafael van der Vaart. It is difficult to see Lambert’s young side possessing the tools to deal effectively with the threat that Spurs possess all over the pitch, not just from wide areas, and a regulation home win should be on the cards.

Tottenham to triumph and extend their win run, with Bent and Bale the men to watch in the goal scorer markets.

Tottenham vs Aston Villa Betting Tips

Gareth Bale to score first – 7/1 with William Hill

Tottenham be winning at half-time and full-time – 5/4 with Stan James

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