Leeds United vs Aston Villa. Sky Bet Championship.
Elland RoadAttendance32,648.
Saturday 3 December 2016 17:33, UK
Leeds against Aston Villa used to be a mouthwatering Premier League tussle, now 12 years on the two clubs are set to contest Championship points.
The sides last met in 2004, the year Leeds were relegated from the top flight. The Whites have suffered a long and arduous time in attempting to get back, even slipping down to League One, but there are signs under Garry Monk that maybe that exile could be about to end.
Villa joined them in the second tier following relegation last term and will be hoping their return is much more immediate.
Steve Bruce has been charged with getting Villa back up at the first time of asking and the unbeaten run since his arrival in October has rejuvenated the club and propelled them up the table. He is keen to keep the momentum going and send out a warning to the rest of the Championship.
"Any time you go away from home and you can get some sort of result it sends out a message," said Bruce at his pre-match press conference.
"Our home form is rock solid. If we can go and produce a performance there - and we're quietly confident that we're capable of doing that - then yes. We've played well of late. Let's hope we can keep it going. A club of this stature has got to be looking to make a challenge."
Four wins in the last five league matches has seen Leeds climb into the play-off places but Monk is not getting carried away.
He told the club's official website: "It's obviously great to be in and around there up in the league, it shows what we are doing is right. But our focus isn't really that. We have been consistent with our quality and performances and we need to be at our maximum again on Saturday evening, that's the focus."
Team news
Leeds defender Pontus Jansson returns to contention for the home game against Aston Villa following illness.
The Sweden international missed the midweek EFL Cup defeat at Liverpool and was suspended for last week's win at Rotherham.
Fellow defender Liam Cooper is hoping to overcome an ankle knock which forced him off at half-time at Anfield and midfielder Eunan O'Kane (groin) is expected to be fit after being withdrawn from the cup tie as a precaution.
Midfielders Pablo Hernandez (hamstring) and Liam Bridcutt (foot) both remain sidelined as Leeds chase their fifth win in six league games.
Villa have doubts over Nathan Baker and Ross McCormack ahead of the trip.
Defender Baker is suffering from a groin problem while McCormack is struggling to recover from an ankle injury.
Ritchie De Laet is out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in September following his summer move from Leicester.
Micah Richards continues to battle a calf injury while Tommy Elphick and Mile Jedinak will hope to avoid a fifth yellow card of the season and automatic one-match bans.
Opta stats
Leeds have failed to score in three of their last four league meetings with Aston Villa, though this will be the first time they've met in league competition since February 2004.
Aston Villa have only lost one of their last eight league visits to Elland Road (W2 D5), losing 3-1 back in May 2003.
Leeds have won four of their last six league matches at Elland Road (D1 L1).
Villa have received the most yellow cards in the division this season (50).
Chris Wood has netted five goals in just nine league games at Elland Road this season, after netting six in 18 last term.
The Villans have just one win in their last 27 league matches away from home (D8 L18).
Prutton's prediction
Villa are still unbeaten under Steve Bruce, he's very pragmatic, and is getting the most out of players like Jonathan Kodjia, who has really come to the party for them.
Again, they come up against a Leeds team who had differing results in the past seven days. They won at Rotherham, but with a second-half performance that you could see Garry Monk was far from happy with. But with a couple changes to the team they did themselves very proud against a Liverpool team that was full of energy and youth.
When you see how Villa played at Brighton, and how Leeds saw Newcastle come and dominate, I can see a draw here.
PRUTTON PREDICTS: 2-2 (Sky Bet odds: 14/1)
