Aston Villa vs Leeds United
Villa Park, Birmingham
Friday, 23-10-2020 @10pm
Ref: Paul Tierney
Aston Villa forward Keinan Davis is expected to be available for the clash with Leeds after missing the Leicester match due to a calf problem. Kortney Hause, Wesley and Tom Heaton remain sidelined. Dean Smith expects Heaton to be back training with the group next week and that the goalkeeper will give him “a great problem” in terms of selection. Heaton has been recovering from a knee injury suffered against his old club Burnley on New Year’s Day.
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has injury problems ahead of the trip to Villa Park, with Kalvin Phillips ruled out for a number of weeks after picking up a serious shoulder injury. Phillips will be replaced in midfield by Dutchman Pascal Struijk, who had stepped in for Liam Cooper on Monday after the centre-back suffered a recurrence of a recent groin injury. Cooper remains a doubt for the trip to Villa while Diego Llorente is definitely out, also with a groin strain which he sustained on international duty.
This is the first Premier League encounter between Aston Villa and Leeds United since February 2004, when Villa won 2-0 with goals from Juan Pablo Angel and Ronny Johnsen. Leeds United’s last league visit to Villa Park saw the Whites come from two goals down to win 3-2 in December 2018, with Kemar Roofe scoring the winner in the 90th minute. Aston Villa are looking to win each of their opening five league games in a season for the first time in their history. Indeed, the Villans are looking to win five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since April 1998 under John Gregory. Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (W6 D2), the longest current run of all sides in the competition. They’ve earned 20 points in these eight games, more than they had in their previous 26 matches in the competition (19). If Aston Villa avoid defeat in this match, they will finish a day top of the Premier League table for the first time since August 2011, and for the first time at least five games into a campaign since November 2001.
The other Premier league games this weekend
Saturday, 24-10-2020
-West Ham United vs Man City @2:30pm
-Fulham vs Crystal Palace @5pm
-Man United vs Chelsea @7:30pm
-Liverpool vs Sheffield United @10pm
Sunday, 25-10-2020
-Southampton vs Everton @5pm
-Wolves vs Newcastle United @7:30pm
-Arsenal vs Leicester City @10:15pm
Monday, 26-10-2020
-Brighton vs West Bromwich Albion @8:30pm
-Burnley vs Tottenham Hotspur @11pm
