Leeds United welcome Aston Villa to Elland Road in a tasty mid-table clash in the Premier League.
Victory would see Leeds leapfrog Villa into eighth for at least 21 hours, whereas Dean Smith’s Villains can retain eighth with a win.
Team News
Leeds could be without Mateusz Klich after the Polish midfielder suffered a back injury in Tuesday’s home win over Southampton.
Jamie Shackleton (adductor) joins Kalvin Phillips (calf), Rodrigo (groin), Gaetano Berardi, Robin Koch (both knee), Ian Poveda (ankle) and Adam Forshaw (hip) on the injury list.
Villa could be without Jack Grealish after a recurrence of an old calf injury kept him out of last Sunday’s defeat to Leicester.
Kortney Hause (foot), Wesley (knee) and Matty Cash (hamstring) are still ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Leeds have lost one of their last eight Premier League meetings against Aston Villa (W4, D3, L1).
- Villa have taken four points from their last six league trips to Elland Road (D4, L2), with three of their four draws finishing 1-1.
- Neither team has been awarded a penalty in 25 previous Premier League meetings.
- 13 of Patrick Bamford’s 37 shots on target in the league this season has been converted into goals.
- No Villa player has produced more crosses this season in the Premier League than the 73 crosses produced by Jack Grealish.
Prediction
Leeds bounced back from their defeat at Wolves last weekend with a clinical display against Southampton in midweek, because the game was definitely a tight contest as expected but Leeds just took their chances better which proved the difference.
Villa meanwhile endured a rough match against Leicester last Sunday because their defending in the first half was sloppy, costing them the win despite an early second half goal and improved attacking with Emiliano Martinez again proving key to keeping the result respectable.
This game therefore feels like it could be another tightly fought contest because both teams know that a win would put themselves back in the mix for a top seven finish, but Villa must improve defensively because if they do and Grealish is back, I can see them edging this otherwise it could be a score draw.
Prediction: Leeds United 1-1 Aston Villa
Result: Leeds United 0-1 Aston Villa
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