Aston Villa v Barnsley preview
Friday 19 January 2018 13:10, UK
Aston Villa midfielders Mile Jedinak and Glenn Whelan could both feature in their home game against Barnsley.
Jedinak missed last week's win at Nottingham Forest due to a thigh injury and Whelan was forced out of that match with a knee problem, but both players have trained and will be assessed. Chris Samba (hamstring) and Gabby Agbonlahor (ankle) are likely to miss out again and goalkeeper Jed Steer may need an operation on his damaged shoulder.
Striker Jonathan Kodjia is continuing his recovery following ankle surgery, but Ahmed Elmohamady is expected to recover a knock sustained at Forest.
Barnsley midfielder Lloyd Isgrove will return to contention after missing last week's goalless home draw against Wolves due to a dead leg. Isgrove's return is timely as on-loan Gary Gardner is ineligible to play against his parent club and fellow midfielder Joe Williams serves the second game of his three-match ban.
Striker Kieffer Moore is hoping to make his first start after stepping off the bench last week and defender Matty Pearson is pushing for a recall having recovered from a recent groin injury. Defender Angus MacDonald (illness) requires further tests and winger Ryan Hedges (thigh), full-back Andy Yiadom (ankle) and centre-half Adam Jackson (knee) are still out.
Opta stats
Aston Villa haven't beaten Barnsley in a home league game for 46 years, since a 2-0 win in January 1972 with goals from Andy Lochhead and Bruce Rioch.
Barnsley have lost one of their last four league games against Villa (W2 D1), but it came in the reverse fixture at Oakwell this season.
Indeed, since their 3-1 at Villa Park in February 2017, Barnsley have picked up just four wins in 20 away games in the Championship (D4 L12).
Albert Adomah has had a hand in nine goals in 10 league starts against Barnsley (six goals, three assists), scoring a brace in this season's reverse fixture.
Aston Villa have won 11 more points after 27 games this season than at this stage in 2016-17 (36 pts).
Adam Hammill (39) has created more goalscoring chances without providing a single assist than any other Championship player this season.
Prutton's prediction
Once again Aston Villa look red-hot contenders for promotion after three wins on the spin in the Sky Bet Championship. Their win against Nottingham Forest last week wasn't pretty by any means, but they got the result and they'll be looking for another three points on Saturday.
Barnsley got a great draw with Wolves last week and are now unbeaten in four. But they're still hovering nervously just a few points above the relegation zone, and I can't see them picking up anything from Villa Park.
David Prutton predicts: 2-0 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
