In the process they have also failed to score in four of their last five matches, allowing Arsenal to take control in the race for fourth place in the Premier League.
Tottenham, meanwhile, increased their unbeaten run to five games as a result of goals from Jermaine Jenas and Darren Bent and eased themselves further away from the relegation area following their fourth away win of the season.
It was certainly a happier return to Villa Park for Harry Redknapp despite some strong barracking from the Villa fans. The Tottenham boss was beaming when Jenas gave Spurs a shock lead when he opened the scoring in only the fifth minute.
Aaron Lennon provided the right-wing cross which Brad Friedel could only parry and Jenas, the former Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United man, was on hand to head home only his third goal of the season.
It was a tremendous boost for Spurs but Villa found themselves in familiar territory chasing the game to the consternation of manager Martin O'Neill.
Villa then attempted to bring Ashley Young more into the game, but with Spurs defending in depth, the young England player had a frustrating time despite creating several openings.
But he did produce one piece of brilliance when he jinked his way along the line, beating a bemused Didier Zokora in the process, before pulling the ball back into the path of Gareth Barry who saw his shot saved by Heurelho Gomes.
The result was that Zokora, who had been booked for a foul on Young, was replaced by Vedran Corluka who immediately had a taste of the Young magic.
After long spells on the defensive, Spurs broke away with Luka Modric forcing Friedel to make a quality save to prevent a second goal for the opposition.
Villa's best chance occurred in the final minute of the first half when Emile Heskey, who had a relatively quiet opening first period, produced a header from Barry's cross only to see the ball strike the crossbar.
It was an expensive miss as five minutes into the second half Spurs increased their lead.
Friedel again parried a shot on goal from Wilson Palacios out to Robbie Keane who produced a low cross to the far post where Bent was on hand to notch his 15th goal of the season.
The goal deflated Villa but the introduction of big John Carew enabled the Birmingham club to stage a recovery with the much-travelled striker pulling a goal back in the 85th minute.
James Milner provided a high cross and Carew rose high to head home his 11th goal of the season. The goal came too late but it did emphasise the importance of Carew to the Villa side.
Previously the feature of Spurs' performance was their solid defence in which Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King were outstanding. They managed to hold out to achieve their victory to force Villa out of the top four for the first time since early December.