On Saturday, Aston Villa are due to host Queens Park Rangers at the Villa Park in their next Championship fixture. Steve Bruce’s men secured all three points against Sheffield Wednesday after their 2-4 away win and after 34 games, they have notched up 63 points and are placed at the 3rd spot on the league table.
With just 4 points separating them from the 2nd spot, they must churn productive outings to earn one of the two automatic qualification spots. Considering the latest team news, here is how we expect Bruce to roll out his starting line-up.
Team News
While Jonathan Kodjia is still sidelined, Alan Hutton has picked up a hamstring injury and is out of contention. Meanwhile, Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah are due to return whereas Andre Green posted on social media about his recovery this week.
Goalkeeper
Sam Johnstone has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship so far this season. The 24-year-old custodian has notched up 14 clean sheets in 34 league games, making 2.59 saves per game on an average, and should be getting the nod from Bruce to start between the sticks.
Defence
James Chester and John Terry have formed an exceptional camaraderie among themselves and are likely to be teed up together at the heart of Aston Villa’s defence. While Terry has had a really positive impact on his club, Chester has given excellent support to the former Chelsea legend.
In the absence of Hutton, Neil Taylor is expected to be called upon to render his services from the left-back position for the Lions. Meanwhile, Ahmed Elmohamady has been in superb form this season and he deserves to get the green light to start from the right-back position.
Midfield
Although Conor Hourihane is likely to keep his place in the central midfield, we expect Jack Grealish to start instead of Glenn Whelan. Hourihane scored a stunner against the Owls and fared in a commendable manner and must keep his good form going to keep his place in the side.
Albert Adomah should be getting the green light to start from the left side of the midfield after being out for the last 3 games. From the other side, we expect to see the industry and calibre that Robert Snodgrass has on offer.
Attack
Lewis Grabban has the required power and pace to rattle QPR’s defensive line and having scored 2 goals in 4 games, he is expected to start alongside Scott Hogan. These two strikers did work well against Sheffield Wednesday and would be keen to do the same this weekend.
