Ange Postecoglou will not entertain talk of revenge when Tottenham visit Aston Villa on Sunday.

Spurs travel to Villa Park for what will be a crucial match in the battle for Champions League qualification with the hosts currently occupying fourth spot in the Premier League.

Villa have also won the last three meetings with Tottenham, but the narrative of revenge surrounds an incident from the previous clash on November 25.

The fixture marked Rodrigo Bentancur’s first start in nine months. However, it was cut short by an ill-timed tackle from Villa full-back Matty Cash that earned him a caution and forced Bentancur off after 32 minutes with an ankle injury.

Cash’s challenge sparked a melee between both sets of players and had unavailable Spurs personnel gunning for the defender, who was later given an escort by his team-mates to the away dressing room at half-time, but Postecoglou laughed off suggestions payback could be on the cards.

He insisted: “No interest mate.

“For us, the challenge is to face a really good team, with really strong home form and beyond that you’d be surprised about how little that stuff infiltrates what we do and sort of our motivations for a game of football.

“If anything, they’re the type of things where you hope that as you mature and develop as a team become less and less important or a focus.

“When you’re clutching at those kinds of things, you’re losing sense of what’s important. What’s important for us is to be at our best against a very good football team and try to get a result.”

Cristian Romero was suspended for Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Villa in November but made clear his disapproval of Cash’s tackle from his seat by the home dugout.

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The Argentina defender is no stranger to a poor challenge after he was sent off for catching Enzo Fernandes of Chelsea on the shin earlier this season, but that red card is a rare blot on a largely clean copybook for Romero this term.

Appointed vice-captain by Postecoglou last summer, Romero has relished the extra responsibility and been able to swap his previous recklessness for a new-found level of composure that has seen him yet to be booked in 2024.

This time last year Romero had received two red cards and already been shown nine cautions, but alongside one sending-off this season, he has also only been given four yellows, while his average tackles per league game has decreased from 2.5 to 2 and fouls per game reduced from 1.6 to 0.7.

Postecoglou lavished praise on his centre-back, who has developed a new habit for goals after he headed in his fourth of the campaign in last weekend’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

“He’s outstanding but I thought he was from day one,” Postecoglou said.

“He’s a World Cup winner as a starter. Not just part of the squad or as a contributor.

“He’s got great pedigree, he’s a great defender, great guy, very driven, very motivated. Highly, highly competitive in everything he does and I love that.

“There’s nothing more you’d want in an athlete and he’s a great example for the rest of the guys.”

Spurs will have Pedro Porro available for the Villa Park clash, but Richarlison is set to remain sidelined with a knee injury.

Ange Postecoglou is excited to see Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur close to his best again amid a growing injury crisis at the club.

Spurs host Aston Villa on Sunday with at least nine first-team players ruled out and Pape Sarr a doubt after he returned with a knock from international duty with Senegal.

A much-needed positive for the Australian is the return to fitness of Bentancur, who made his first competitive start in nine months in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday after a serious knee injury.

With first-choice midfielders James Maddison (ankle) and Yves Bissouma (suspended) definitely absent for the visit of Villa, Bentancur could be thrust into action.

“The back four is probably the major issue for us at the moment. We’re really low on depth there, but midfield as well. That’s just the period we’re going through,” Postecoglou reflected.

“The fact Rodrigo got an opportunity to start (for Uruguay) is good for us. It gives him that confidence that he’s able to get through a game.

“The beauty of him is he can play a couple of different areas. I think he can play as a six, he can play further forward as an eight and he’s even creative. I think he can score goals as well.

“We were kind of hoping with him, Madders, Pape, Biss and people like Pierre(-Emile Hojbjerg) we were well stocked in that midfield area for different kinds of combinations, but obviously that has been disrupted a bit.

“The key for Rodrigo is to get him back to that level physically and mentally where he feels really comfortable about playing at this level.

“I don’t think he is far off it from what I’ve seen and again certainly over the next few weeks he will get that opportunity.”

Bentancur was one of Tottenham’s best players last season and impressed in a box-to-box role before he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in February.

Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa used him at the base of a midfield three on Tuesday, which is where Bissouma has played for Spurs so far this season.

With Bissouma suspended for the Villa match after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign at Wolves, Postecoglou hinted Bentancur could fill that void.

He said: “Yeah, potentially. Watching the (Bolivia) game and how he played, he did it really well so you know he can play there.

“I don’t think he is that far off from a physical perspective of being able to play his normal game, whether that is box-to-box, and part of it is getting belief in himself and his own body that he is capable of doing it.”

Spurs’ hopes of returning to winning ways have been hit by their lengthy injury list, but Postecoglou insisted: “Aston Villa will be a great test for us, but we’re at home.

“Apart from the Chelsea game, our home form has been really strong and we need to make sure we get back to that.”

Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has returned to full training but is still weeks away from being in contention to play first-team football.

Bentancur saw his fine 2022-23 campaign cut short in February when he suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his left knee during a 4-1 defeat to Leicester.

The ex-Juventus midfielder had been one of Spurs’ best performers, scoring six times in 26 appearances last season and after eight months out he is close to a return, but will not be in the squad for Monday’s visit of Fulham.

“No, he won’t be in the squad,” Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed.

“We’ll be careful with him. Now he’s sort of fully training, so that means he’s into the whole session. We’ve drip-fed him into training the last month and he’s coped pretty well with that.

“Now he’s into full training. We’ve got to be mindful that he’s missed a fair bit of football, but I think the more he trains with the first team over the next few weeks, we’ll sort of pick our moment.

“He’s looking good at training and it was great to have him for the last couple of weeks fully integrated with the guys who are here and we’re looking forward to having him back.”

Joint-leaders Spurs will have vice-captain Cristian Romero and skipper Son Heung-min available for the London derby.

Romero suffered a whack to his ankle in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Peru earlier this week, while Son was visibly in discomfort during South Korea’s 6-0 victory against Vietnam, although did play the whole match and score in the friendly.

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No issues have been reported since the duo returned to Hotspur Way this week.

Postecoglou added: “It has been a pretty positive international break. In terms of availability I’ll start with the internationals first and everybody is back.

“The medical reports seem good so no real issue around the guys from a fitness perspective.

“Playing on a Monday night helps and all the international players should be fine but Brennan (Johnson) we will need to see.”

Johnson has not played for Tottenham since the north London derby at Arsenal on September 24 after he sustained a minor hamstring strain.

The Wales international is training again and set to be in the squad against Fulham, but Spurs will be without Yves Bissouma after he was sent off for two bookable offences at Luton a fortnight ago.

Postecoglou also revealed Dejan Kulusevski is fine after speaking with the winger who was involved in Sweden’s Euro 2024 qualifier at Belgium on Monday, which was abandoned at half-time following confirmation that two Swedish supporters had been killed in a shooting three miles from the stadium in Brussels.

“No, he is fine. I had a chat with him,” Postecoglou explained.

“Like everyone else we shake our heads at these things where you go to a football game and these kind of things happen.

“It is sad and kind of confronting how close it comes to your own world, but Deki is fine. He trained yesterday with the team and is ready to go.”

Tottenham attacker Ivan Perisic is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury in training.

Spurs confirmed on Tuesday that Perisic had sustained a “complex anterior cruciate ligament injury” to his right knee in non-contact training.

Perisic played a key role off the bench in Tottenham’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sheffield United last weekend with an assist on his 50th appearance, but the severity of his injury could mean it is his final appearance for the club.

Croatian attacker Perisic is out of contract next summer and could be looking at a nine-month timeline before he can return to action.

“The experienced Croatia international sustained the injury in non-contact training and will undergo surgery. Wishing you well in your recovery, Ivan,” a club statement read.

Rodrigo Bentancur is currently out with an ACL injury sustained in February and he is not expected to be available for Ange Postecoglou until November.