LEEDS UNITED will be looking to return to winning ways in the English Premier League when they entertain Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.
Jesse Marsch's men made a flying start to the season by pocketing seven points from a possible nine, dishing out a 3-0 drubbing to Chelsea in the process.
However, a pair of away defeats at Brighton and Brentford either side of home draw with Everton has seen the Whites drop down into the bottom-half of the table.
After their enforced 29-day lay off, Leeds will be hoping to get straight back into the winning groove with a victory against Aston Villa this weekend.
Villa's narrow 1-0 win over Southampton before the international break seems to have temporarily relieved the pressure that was beginning to mount on manager Steven Gerrard.
The Villians chief will be hoping that Saints success – in a game which brought up my main selection – will act as a springboard for further improvement ahead of Sunday's trip to West Yorkshire.
Outright Betting
Leeds United have yet to taste defeat on home turf this term and that is perhaps reflected in the odds, with a Whites win on offer at 17/12 with SBK.
Aston Villa, who have lost each of their last four Premier League away games, enter Elland Road as 21/10 (SBK) outsiders while a point apiece has been priced up at 12/5 (William Hill).
Betting Angles
Goals are usually on the menu when Leeds are involved and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here with Over 2.5 Goals looking worthy of interest at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Although Jesse Marsch steered his side to Premier League safety last season, the Whites continue to ship goals at an alarming rate under the Americans' watch, posting just one clean sheet across their last 11 league games.
That being said, Leeds pack a real attacking threat, having failed to score on only one occasion this season, and they're certainly capable of carving out opportunities against an Aston Villa side that find clean sheets hard to come by when playing away from home.
While Gerrard's charges have failed to shut out their opponents in seven of their last top eight road trips, they have scored in all but two of their last 10 league games outside of Villa Park, so they should have the technical tools to create chances against what is a leaky Leeds team.
What's more, seven of Aston Villa's last nine road games have featured a minimum of three match goals, one of which was against Leeds at this venue back in March.
With all this in mind, coupled with the fact that four of Leeds' six league games this season have broken the Over 2.5 goal barrier, siding with the same wager in West Yorkshire on Sunday stands out at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Given that Leeds and Aston Villa have thrown up some fiery fixtures in recent years, I'll also dip into the player card market and have a small play on Ashley Young to be carded at 3/1 (Bet 365).
The former Manchester United man has been booked in two of his three appearances this season and he should have his hands full here given the high intensity that the hosts tend to play with.
This English Premier League match between Leeds United and Aston Villa will be played on Oct 2, 2022 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Leeds United vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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