Simon Hooper has been named as the man in the middle for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League duel between Tottenham and Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (2pm kick-off).
Both sides come into the fixture in strong form. Tottenham, currently 3rd, are unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions and secured a win over Leeds before the international break. Meanwhile, initial slow-starters Aston Villa, 13th, have clicked into gear in recent months with four wins in a row in all competitions. Notably, none of the last 20 Premier League meetings between these two teams have ended in a draw.
Hooper has issued 31 yellow cards and two red cards across six Premier League matches this season. In Gameweek 2, he initially showed Anthony Gordon a yellow against Liverpool but later upgraded it to a red after a VAR review. Similarly, towards the end of September, he allowed play to continue following a foul by Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah against Brighton, only to reverse his decision and send Chalobah off after consulting VAR.
Simon Hooper’s Tottenham Record
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 12 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 2 |
| Defeats | 5 |
| League Points | 17 |
| Penalties Per Game | 0 |
| Yellow Cards Per Game | 1.32 |
| Reds Per Game | 0 |
Tottenham have had mixed fortunes under Hooper’s watch, recording five wins, five defeats, and two draws in his 12 matches in charge. Last season, however, was particularly tough for Spurs who lost all three games Hooper officiated, including back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Bournemouth sandwiched between a 2-1 loss to Arsenal.
However, a couple of Hooper’s most controversial moments have gone in favour of Tottenham, both of which came in the first half of the 2022/23 season. In a heated clash against Liverpool, Hooper controversially sent off two Reds players and wrongly allowed a Luis Diaz goal to be ruled out, in a game which saw Spurs claim a last-gasp 2-1 win.
Later that same season, Tottenham benefited again when Hooper let Man City play on after a foul on Erling Haaland just as Jack Grealish broke through on goal with the score level at 3-3, only to then change his mind, much to the frustration of the Etihad.
Simon Hooper’s Aston Villa Record
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 19 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Draws | 5 |
| Defeats | 4 |
| League Points | 35 |
| Penalties Per Game | 0.16 |
| Yellow Cards Per Game | 1.56 |
| Reds Per Game | 0 |
Aston Villa have a solid record with Simon Hooper in charge, winning 10, drawing five, and losing just four of the 19 matches he has officiated. They’re unbeaten in their last four under Hooper, a run that includes victories over Nottingham Forest and Fulham, as well as draws with Liverpool and Everton; the latter coming in Gameweek 4 this season.
Villa have never had a player sent off in a Hooper-officiated match, averaging 1.56 yellow cards per game and winning two penalties during that span.
While Hooper’s games involving Villa have typically been free of major controversy, fans may remember a key error from three years ago when he prematurely blew his whistle before Philippe Coutinho scored what could have been a winner against Man City. The early whistle meant VAR couldn’t intervene, a mistake Hooper later apologised for to then-manager Steven Gerrard.
What can we expect on Sunday afternoon?
Hooper has been pretty card-happy this season with 31 yellows and a couple of reds, but in a combined 31 matches involving Tottenham and Aston Villa, he’s never sent off a player from either side.
While Hooper has made some big calls that have previously gone in Tottenham’s favour, results haven’t been on their side of late with Spurs losing all three matches he officiated last season. Aston Villa, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last four games with Hooper in charge and have won their last two meetings with Spurs.
Discipline also favoured Villa in this fixture last season, having received just one yellow card in the three league and cup games the teams contested.