Jamie Carragher hints at Tottenham advantage in top four race amid Unai Emery repeat

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Tottenham’s hopes for a top four finish this season were boosted in their victory over Aston Villa, who could face a potential struggle.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has suggested that Unai Emery’s tactical tweaks could hinder Aston Villa’s top four chances this season. It comes after the Villains were dismantled by Tottenham at Villa Park.

Spurs came up against a new look Villa side, who started with a back five in an attempt to deny them any chances. The first half came and went in that fashion, but a rampant second half saw Ange Postecoglou‘s men open the game up.

A quickfire double from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson put the Lilywhites in the driving seat, before John McGinn saw red for a reckless challenge. Tottenham toyed with the home side, before adding a third and a fourth late on through Heung-Min Son and Timo Werner.

It was a huge victory for Spurs, who moved within two points of their top four rivals, with an extra game still to play.

Top four chances

Following the clash, Carragher suggested that Emery’s tactical switches could be costly for Aston Villa, drawing comparisons to his time at Arsenal. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “Yeah [there are concerns around Villa] and the reason I say that, we’ve spoken about them, we’ve loved them this season, but it takes me a little bit back to when he was at Arsenal in his first full season.

“He gets a lot of criticism for that season, but actually for a lot of it he was doing really well. But towards the end of the season, because they were in the Europa League, they were in a great position in terms of top four, we can see that [points at league table].

“Seven games to go, they were in a quarter-final, semi-final and they get to the final of the Europa League. That’s where they were [top four] and they just miss out [finishing fifth by one point]…”

“And they just miss out because Unai Emery started changing his team, personnel, changing formation, he did a lot of back three and a lot of back four at Arsenal and in the end, he ended up with nothing. He missed out on the Champions League and they lost the [Europa League] final to Chelsea.

“So he’s got to be really careful and I hope for Aston Villa’s sake, that was a one off in trying to do something different because of Tottenham and the teams who have played against Tottenham and get back to being what Aston Villa have been about this season.”

History repeating itself?

So, could history repeat itself once again? Will Emery continue to tweak his side as they look to get themselves over the line in the league while attempting to win European silverware? It remains to be seen.

However, Tottenham will feel confident in being able to turn up the pressure in the moments where it counts. With a top four spot currently in their hands, Postecoglou will certainly be hopeful that his side can get the push over the line.