Aston Villa will host Leeds United this Friday in the 20th round game of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Venue: Villa Park (Birmingham)
Key Statistics
Aston Villa are winless in their last three home games (D1, L2).
They have lost six of their last nine PL games on a Friday (W2, D1).
The hosts are unbeaten in their last four PL meetings with Leeds (W2, D2), securing clean sheets in three contests.
Villa’s Danny Ings has scored five goals in his last seven PL games.
Leeds United have lost just one of their last six PL away games against Villa (W3, D2).
The visitors have conceded 2+ goals in four of their last five competitive matches.
They are winless in their last six games (D3, L3).
The visitors have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 games.
Head to head
In 29 PL meetings between both sides, Aston Villa have ten wins while Leeds have eight wins (D11).
Fifty-three goals have been scored in 29 PL head-to-head meetings between both sides, with four red cards and 100 yellow cards shown to both teams in those fixtures.
Latest performances in all competitions
Aston Villa: L-D-W-L-L
Leeds United: D-D-D-L-L
Aston Villa
Unai Emery and his Aston Villa side will look to get back to winning ways this Friday when they host Leeds United.
The hosts come into this tie on the back of an embarrassing exit in the FA cup thanks to a 2-1 loss to League Two side Stevenage. The lowly Stevenage came to Villa Park on Sunday and embarrassed a Villa side that were in a buoyant mood following a decent start to life under Emery.
Two late goals by the League Two side sealed a late 2-1 FA Cup win over Aston Villa on Sunday, meaning the hosts are now out of every cup competition this season.
They will now entirely turn their attention to the Premier League, where they currently sit in 11th position and enjoy positive results under Emery. The hosts’ only league loss under Emery came against Liverpool (W3, D1), while their three wins have come vs teams inside the top eight ahead of the round.
However, they were held to a 1-1 draw last time against Leeds’ relegation rivals, Wolves, which might give the Yorkshire outfit confidence. Yet given that they are unbeaten against Leeds in each of the last four PL meetings (W2, D2), securing clean sheets in three of those contests, they will be confident of getting a good result.
Possible Aston Villa starting lineup
Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, Ashley Young, Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey.
Injured: John McGinn
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Leeds United
Leeds come into this tie on the back of an FA Cup nightmare on Sunday.
The visitors needed two late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw away to struggling Championship side Cardiff City. That result means Jesse Marsch’s side have conceded 2+ goals in four of their last five competitive matches.
The only game they didn’t concede more than a goal in that run was when they held Newcastle to a goalless draw two weeks ago. That result is their only clean sheet in their last 12 games and the second time they have failed to score in their last nine games.
And so, if they want any result here, they must sort their defending out, or they stand the chance of returning to the relegation zone at the end of this weekend. The visitors come into the game week just two points clear of the relegation zone – albeit with a game in hand.
It’s easy to see why Marsch is under growing scrutiny. He’ll now be hoping his team can tap into their good record at this venue to get a positive result, as Leeds have lost just one of their last six PL away games against Villa (W3, D2). They also won the last Friday H2H held here, 3-0, back in October 2020.
Possible Leeds United starting lineup
Illan Meslier, Luke Ayling, Robin Koch, Liam Cooper, Pascal Struijk, Marc Roca,.Tyler Adams, C. Summerville, Brenden Aaronson, Wilfried Gnonto, Rodrigo Moreno.
Injured: Adam Forshaw, Patrick Bamford, Stuart Dallas, Luis Sinisterra, Archie Gray
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-1 Leeds United
