Football betting: Premier League - Aston Villa vs Spurs

With unerring timing Dimitar Berbatov posted double figures for Tottenham in the goals department only for his agent to then come out and say that the striker was looking to play for a bigger club. Today's match-up with Aston Villa may show that both sides are still some way from being big clubs but Berbatov is a different striker against better defences. Click here for a free $600 welcome bonus when you join Paddy Power Poker The Bulgarian hitman may have struck four goals against Reading but against the likes of Olof Mellberg he will be starved of the space he enjoyed against Steve Coppell's side last time out. Add to that the fact that Tottenham have only won one game away from home this season in the Premier League - against Portsmouth - and the portents look good for Villa. The home side have won four and drawn two of their last six opening fixtures of the New Year in the Premier League and they have not lost the year's opening fixture since a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in 2001. Since losing at Southampton in 2003, Spurs have not been beaten on New Year's Day, winning three and drawing one of their four games since then. Spurs and Villa shared eight goals in the reverse fixture in October at White Hart Lane and the Midlanders are chasing a first Premier League maximum over the Londoners in seven meetings. Spurs travel to Villa Park on the back of 5-1 and 6-4 wins over Fulham and Reading respectively; prior to Saturday's 1-2 victory at Wigan, Villa shared eight goals with Chelsea in west London. So the signs all point toward a high-scoring match - four or more goals is a skinny 7/4 with Paddy Power. However while both sides have been involved in high-scoring matches recently both of the side's managers - Martin O'Neill and Juande Ramos - will want to restore order and will have spent the week tightening up their defences. Zat Knight may return for Villa after suspension but Curtis Davies was impressive in his absence against Wigan. Spurs captain Ledley King will continue his comeback in defence and when he was on the pitch against Reading the score was 2-1 until his substitution, such is his importance in Spurs's back four. Steer away from the concensus here and rememeber that O'Neill's sides are typically defense-minded with pacy strikers looking to catch teams out on the break. Spurs will hope to counter that threat by including Didier Zokora to shore up the midfield and while Berbatov and co are in good form, Villa are tough to break down. The goalless draw with Paddy Power is the value bet at 11/1 and if that is too scary a prospect they go 3/1 that there will be either 0 or 1 goal in the game. Verdict: 1pt 0-0 draw Villa v Spurs @ 11/1 (Paddy Power) Click here for a free $600 welcome bonus when you join Paddy Power Poker