McCann's Villa doubt for Spurs clash

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will assess the fitness of key midfielder Gavin McCann before choosing his side for the St Stephen's Day clash at White Hart Lane.

McCann passed a late fitness on a hamstring problem to enable him to play against Manchester United but was substituted in the second half as a precaution.

Juan Pablo Angel or Milan Baros are likely to earn a recall up front as two games in the space of 72 hours could prove beyond Chris Sutton who still looks short of full match fitness.

Villa will be looking to end a run of seven games without a win which has damaged their hopes of claiming a European spot.

Team (from): Kiraly, Hughes, Mellberg, Cahill, Barry, Petrov, Davis, Gardner, McCann, Sutton, Agbonlahor, Olejnik, Angel, Baros, Bouma, Ridgewell, Samuel, Whittingham, Agathe.