ASTON VILLA entertain Leeds United on Wednesday with both sides desperate to push themselves up the table after some recent encouragement.
For Steven Gerrard's men, they are going for back-to-back league wins for the first time since November after they defeated Everton away following a comeback point against Manchester United.
Leeds had shown plenty of signs recently they had the guts and personnel required recently to haul themselves away from a relegation scrap, but a disastrous home 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on their last outing means they are right back in the mix.
In fairness, the Yorkshire club are three places above the relegation zone and with a seven points cushion as of Tuesday, but they won't want to offer those beneath them any encouragement. And before that Newcastle setback, they had chalked up a couple of excellent wins against Burnley and at West Ham.
Theoretically, Aston Villa could welcome back Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet after their African Cup of Nations adventures, but they are both unlikely to feature.
While Leeds United will still be without the injured Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper.
How the bookies view it
Aston Villa are favourites here given home advantage and a current four points advantage. They are odds-on across the board at 13/16 with SBK being the best price.
Leeds United can be backed at 17/5 with the same firm, while the draw is 3/1 with Unibet.
Recent head to heads
The sides haven't met this season yet, but curiously there were two away wins last season. It was 1-0 to Villa at Elland Road, while Leeds United won 3-0 in Birmingham as can be seen below.
Players to watch
Philippe Coutinho introduced himself in style to the Aston Villa fans with a goal against Manchester United and the on-loan Barcelona star should be fully up to speed again now. He will surely attract plenty of interest at 23/10 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Leeds United are one of the most unpredictable sides in the league. It summed them up winning at West Ham then losing at home to Newcastle United.
And Aston Villa look too short at odds-on in a game where there should be goals. The last four games at Villa Park have sen over 2.5 goals every time so with two teams who can score and concede plenty of goals, take a chance on over 3.5 goals at 15/8 with BetVictor.
By the same token, the 21/20 by 10Bet on both teams to score and over 2.5 goals should also come up.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Leeds United will be played on Feb 9, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Leeds United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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