This is going to be a very tough match for Aston Villa. I think now it is going to be almost impossible for them to stay at the top of the table. At least at the top four positions for sure. Manchester City is definitely not going to drop points in this match because they have dropped points in the last two matches. And they will be very determined to get all three points from this match. But Aston Villa has to be careful. They cannot go too defensive or too offensive as well. It seems like all the options that they have are going to be pretty bad. I think they will have to go for a draw and somehow try to avoid a loss.
If Tottenham wins today's match and Aston Villa loses to Man City tomorrow, then the number of points Aston Villa and Tottenham will have the same. And yes, that will potentially make Aston Villa lose their position in the following week if they fail to win again the following week. So I agree that in tomorrow's match Aston Villa must at least try to get a point, even if it's only 1 point. But I think Man City as the host will not let the match end in a draw. Because currently Man City is also in a race to get to the top of the standings. If Man City does not get full points, Man City will be even further behind Arsenal and Liverpool.
It was a big chance that Tottenham failed to utilized. They couldn't hold on to their 1 goal lead, they settled for a draw and finally missed the opportunity of closing the points difference between them and Aston Villa. Villa playing Manchester City has a big probability to lose that game, it would have been the turning point that Tottenham were looking for, but they couldn't capitalize on it. Nevertheless if Aston Villa lose to Manchester City as expected, Tottenham has gained one point, but if Aston Villa wins at City, which is unlikely but possibly, it will be a big blow to Tottenham.