Martin O'Neill sees Tottenham as Aston Villa's main rivals to break into the top four this season. The two teams meet on Saturday evening and O'Neill has earmarked Spurs as Villa's biggest rivals to claim a top-four finish, but the Northern Irishman is hoping his fifth-placed side can draw level on points this weekend with maximum points.

"Tottenham are very strong," the Villa boss said in The Mirror.

"They have a chance to challenge that top four because they have the wherewithal to do it.

"But we will throw absolutely everything at it.

"It will be a tough ask this season again but it's our aim.

"That's what we want to do as we'd love to be playing Champions League football eventually.

"I am hoping we can hang in and get a few results so supporters stay with us, thinking something may happen.

"We love a challenge and we get excited by it all.

"But the fact is the top four have been the top four because they have been the four best sides through the course of the season.

"Teams can have little runs at it but Everton are the only team to have broken it in the last six years.

"I just think from our point of view, consistency over a lengthy period of the season is vital.

"We had an experience of it last season, we were going along nicely until February time.

"We had a number of points on the board and perhaps if we had a bigger squad we may have been able to cope a bit better."