Tottenham Hotspur will clash against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon in what could prove to be a season-defining fixture for Ange Postecoglou's side.
Presently, Spurs are fifth in the standings and trail the fourth-placed Villans by five points, albeit with a game in hand, and victory in the Midlands would potentially reshape the table in the coming weeks.
Defeat, conversely, would provide Unai Emery's high-flying outfit with a major advantage heading into the business end, and Tottenham must ensure that they leave Villa Park with something to keep on their opponents' heels.
Especially so with teams such as Manchester United trailing further behind but sure to leap at any opening that arises from Tottenham's defeat.
Postecoglou will be committed to preventing that from happening, and while he has most of his players available, there are one or two who are marooned in the medical room.
Spurs team news vs Aston Villa
Richarlison's knee injury suffered against Wolverhampton Wanderers will keep him shackled on the sidelines for the foreseeable, stifling a stunning run of goalscoring form that saw the Brazilian reap nine goals from ten Premier League outings.
Veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster and left-sided dynamo Ryan Sessegnon remain longer-term absentees, but there have been no fresh concerns to dishearten Postecoglou.
Having been unavailable for Spurs' past two matches due to a muscular injury, Pedro Porro returned to full team training this week and is in line to reclaim his starting spot at right-back.
The Spaniard's return, it cannot be understated, is a stirring boost for the Lilywhites as they look to clinch successive league victories for the first time since before Christmas.
Pedro Porro could help silence Ollie Watkins
Tottenham have ebbed and flowed from form this season but they are a far cry from the malaise of 2022/23, with the emphatic performances of stars such as Porro – who has been praised for his "titanic" displays this term by The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare – integral in this regard.
As per Sofascore, the January 2023 loan signing – who completed a permanent £40m transfer last summer – has indeed been brilliant this season; Tottenham's top assist maker with seven assists, he has also averaged 2.9 tackles, 2.5 clearances, 5.7 ball recoveries and 5.1 successful duels per game.
1.
Emerson Palmieri
West Ham United
78
2.
Tyrick Mitchell
Crystal Palace
72
3.
Antonee Robinson
Fulham
69
4.
Pedro Porro
Tottenham Hotspur
67
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Destiny Udogie
Tottenham Hotspur
61
His all-encompassing approach will be crucial, also with a certain ubiquity in his play, energetic, tenacious, and covering immense stretches of ground – quite simply, Porro is one of Tottenham's best players, and he will be important in stifling the threat of Ollie Watkins.
Watkins has been Aston Villa's indomitable spearhead this season, sensational in his attacking output and yielding a return of 21 goals and ten assists across all competitions this season.
To fully underscore this, the 28-year-old ranks among the top 14% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored and the top 5% for assists per 90, as per FBref, so he's certainly in the elite bracket of forwards right now and has even been dubbed a "fascinating" player by The Times' Henry Winter.
These statistics illustrate how important he has been to Villa and why Porro being available to potentially limit his impact is so vital to Tottenham's chances of picking up all three points.
While the England international has been playing at centre-forward this season, he has a predilection to linger to the left – as evidenced by his Sofascore heat map – and Porro's productivity in his defensive duties will be key in ensuring he does not have free rein.
The video above displays Watkins in all his breakneck glory, wheeling away from his opponent down the Aston Villa attacking left flank to drive into the danger area and look to unleash a creative pass for a teammate.
This is exactly the kind of danger that Tottenham need to be wary of and it is an illustration of the striker's multi-functionality, proving to be dynamic and effective across a range of roles.
Emerson Royal, who has stepped in at right-back for Porro across the past two matches, is a solid defensive force and proved this by winning 18 contested duels across the two affairs, but he was too comfortable allowing others to do the attacking work and such stagnancy will be exploited by the Villa machine.
Porro's creativity will keep Watkins on his toes, not so carefree in waltzing through the thirds. Porro's aforementioned recovery powers dwarf that of his Brazilian positional peer, who has averaged just 3.9 ball recoveries per game.
Of course, right-sided central defender Cristian Romero will have the primary duty of quelling Watkins's free-scoring form but this might actually work in Tottenham's favour, with the tough-tackling Argentine – who ranks among the top 9% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles per 90, as per FBref – a pillar of strength at the back.
Romero's aggressiveness and almost brazen approach to his defensive duties have left hopeful attackers in pieces throughout the campaign but Watkins will be savvy to this and drift away, perhaps down his favoured left flank, to focus on the playmaking side of his game and wait for opportune moments to pounce and unleash strikes on goal.
Now, Watkins might be a clinical striker but his intelligence, movement, and spatial awareness are first-rate qualities that have been heralded by The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell, who said that his ability to tie defenders "in knots" with his fleet-footed surges is nothing short of an "art form."
Since it's unlikely he will break the hosts' shape and drive out onto the right wing, the only alternative is to come up against Porro, who is more than capable of providing his adversary with the horn-locking welcome to rebuff him in his advances.
It's a huge contest but Tottenham will believe that they can overcome a slick and stylish Villa side to continue their resurgence under Postecoglou, and Porro will be at the centre of the action.