Aston Villa will look to move closer to the Championship play-off places when they host in-form Leeds United at Villa Park on Thursday night.
Steve Bruce’s side have moved to within six points of the top six following successive one-goal wins against Queens Park Rangers and Burton Albion respectively, with Ross McCormack scoring the winner in a below-par home performance against the latter club to push them up to 10th.
Bruce will want to see a more accomplished attacking showing against United as the club look to pick up another victory and preserve their unbeaten run at Villa Park this season.
They will face a tough task in picking up the three points against Garry Monk’s men, who are five places and seven points better off than their Midlands opponents – having won three straight matches themselves.
Football FanCast pick the Aston Villa XI that will pick up a third successive win against Leeds and maintain their undefeated streak at home.
GK: Mark Bunn
Pierluigi Gollini had seemed to have established himself as Steve Bruce’s number one goalkeeper, but Bunn has come into the starting XI for the last two matches and should make it three in a row when Leeds come to Villa Park.
The stopper kept a clean sheet in the win at QPR, while there was little he could do about Jamie Ward’s brilliant acrobatic goal for Burton Albion on Boxing Day.
RB: Alan Hutton
The experienced Scottish full-back has been a regular starter since Bruce took over at Villa Park, and with the defence looking much more solid over the last couple of matches, he should start for the visit of in-form Leeds.
United’s attacking players are in particularly good form, with the Whites scoring four in an emphatic win over Preston on Boxing Day, and Hutton will need to keep the likes of Stuart Dallas and Kemar Roofe quiet on Thursday.
CB: James Chester
While Nathan Baker and Tommy Elphick have been in and out of the Villa side this season because of injury, Chester has been the one constant at the heart of the defence and looks to be Bruce’s first choice centre-back.
The Welshman has proven himself a dominant defender this term and having lined up alongside Baker in Villa’s last two matches – conceding just the one goal in the process – that partnership should continue.
CB: Nathan Baker
Many Villa supporters would have expected James Chester and Tommy Elphick to be the club’s first choice centre-back pairing when they moved to Villa Park in the summer, but Baker has certainly had something to say about that.
He impressed in the side when Steve Bruce first took over – putting in some fine performances at the back – and has returned to the starting XI in the last couple of weeks with Elphick relegated to the substitutes’ bench.
LB: Jordan Amavi
Had he not been injured for the majority of the 2015/16 season, you get the feeling that Amavi may have been bought by a Premier League team if his initial performances are anything to go by.
The left-back has impressed both defensively and in attack, providing another dimension to a Villa side that has sometimes struggled to score goals.
RM: Albert Adomah
While Steve Bruce has made a number of changes to his side to try and improve his team’s attacking impetus in recent weeks, the Ghanaian winger has been the preferred option on the right-hand side.
With his pace and threat in the final third – he assisted Leandro Bacuna for his header against Burton – Adomah will line up against Leeds and look to cause one of the most highly-rated left-backs in the Championship, Charlie Taylor, problems on Thursday in what should be an intriguing battle.
CM: Mile Jedinak
While the Australian midfielder has been deployed alongside Gary Gardner in midfield in recent weeks, Bruce could choose to go with a more attack-minded player in the middle against Leeds.
If that does happen – as it did in the second half of the match against Burton – Jedinak will be asked to be the anchor in midfield. It is a role his manager seems to prefer him in as a regular starter, with the likes ofGary Gardner and Ashley Westwood coming in and out of the side.
CM: Jack Grealish
Steve Bruce chose to go with the more defensively-minded duo of Gary Gardner and Mile Jedinak in the centre of the park in the matches against QPR and Burton Albion, but with the side struggling to attack during the latter fixture especially, Grealish replaced Gardner at the break.
The young midfielder could be given a starting spot when high-flying Leeds visit Villa Park, as Villa look to find that rhythm going forward.
LM: Leandro Bacuna
Following Bruce’s change of system in recent weeks, Leandro Bacuna has come into the side on the left-hand side of midfield – replacing Jordan Ayew – as Villa look to find a recipe for success in attack.
Having scored a brilliant header in the 2-1 win against Burton on Boxing Day, Bacuna will again be asked to provide a goal threat from the left as he looks to get on the scoresheet for the second successive Championship match.
ST: Ross McCormack
Despite costing £12m when he arrived from Fulham during the summer, the Scottish striker has found first team football hard to come by under Steve Bruce. But with the attack failing to fire as Villa entered the busy festive period, McCormack was brought into the starting XI.
He has started the club’s last two fixtures and after scoring the winning goal in the 2-1 win against Burton Albion, which moved the side to within six points of the play-offs, he should start up top again against his former team, Leeds.
ST: Jonathan Kodjia
The Ivory Coast international has been Bruce’s preferred option up top for Villa this season and showed exactly why when he scored the winning goal as his side picked up their second away win of the campaign at Queens Park Rangers.
With both him and Ross McCormack scoring during the club’s successive wins in recent weeks, their partnership is likely to be given another chance to flourish when Leeds come to Villa Park on Thursday.