Leeds United vs Aston Villa

Leeds United and Aston Villa are set to square off at Elland Road in a bottom-half Premier League six-pointer.

After securing top-flight survival by the skin of their teeth in 2021/22, Leeds United are bracing themselves for another season-long battle in the bottom half of the standings. A thumping 5-2 defeat at Brentford on the eve of the international break took Leeds’ winless league streak to thee matches (D1, L2), leaving them only two points clear of the relegation zone. But a return to Elland Road could be what the doctor ordered for Jesse Marsch’s men as they’ve not lost any of their three Premier League home fixtures this season (W2, D1), averaging two goals per game. However, there’s no room for complacency, with the ‘Whites’ only winning once in their last ten Premier League home clashes against Villa (D5, L4).

On the other hand, Aston Villa pulled off a crucial 1-0 home triumph over Southampton last time out, arresting an underwhelming run of four winless Premier League matches (D1, L3). But under-fire manager Steven Gerrard is not off the hook yet as the ‘Lions’ entered the international break only one point clear of the drop zone. Gerrard’s next assignment is to reinvigorate Villa’s away form after seeing his side lose all three Premier League fixtures on the road this season via an aggregate score of 2-7. After holding Southampton at bay in the previous round, Villa could register back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since April. That’s quite possible since they’ve won both top-flight visits to Elland Road since Leeds’ promotion in 2020/21 without conceding.