Aston Villa vs Leeds Prediction: Away side can get something

Aston Villa and Leeds suffered differing fates in the FA Cup last weekend as Villa lost at home to Newcastle, while Leeds needed penalties to get past Birmingham City. 

Unai Emery will be desperate for his side to finish in those Champions League places, while Leeds are doing all they can to stay above the dotted line. Below you can find my Aston Villa vs Leeds (15:00 GMT) predictions featuring team news and more. 

Team News

Emery is likely to revert back to the team that beat Brighton 1-0 in the Premier League, after a disappointing showing against Newcastle. Marco Bizot was sent off in that one and is suspended, so Emiliano Martinez will resume in goal. 

Tammy Abraham will battle it out with Ollie Watkins for the starting spot up front, while Emi Buendia is likely to start as the number 10. Leon Bailey will look to force his way into the team ahead of Jadon Sancho, having scored against Leeds the last time these two met at Villa Park. 

Leeds boss Daniel Farke rotated heavily for the cup win over Blues, but should revert to a more familiar line-up here. Noah Okafor may get another start having scored against Chelsea and bagged an assist at St Andrew’s, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin will hope to lead the line having come off the bench in the second city. 

Football Odds

Aston Villa vs Leeds Odds

Aston Villa are the favourites here, priced at 9/10 to take all three points. That gives them an implied win probability of 53%, while Leeds are 3/1 to cause a shock. 

A draw is 11/4, over 2.5 goals is 4/5 and BTTS is 8/11. Watkins is the favourite to score first at 4/1.

Both team to score @ 8/11

Seven of Leeds' last eight Premier League away games have seen both teams score and only Arsenal have kept Farke’s men at bay in their last nine outings in all competitions. Calvert-Lewin is now back fit after his illness to lead the line and should provide a goal threat, while Aston Villa have seen both teams score in three of their last five games.

Given all of the attacking quality on show, I really like this pick to get us going, and I think we should get a brilliant end-to-end encounter on Saturday afternoon. 

Double Chance - Draw or Leeds United @ 9/10

I fancy Leeds to get something here. One defeat in their last seven, and that came at the hands of Arsenal at Elland Road - so no shame in that. Farke’s switch to a back five has transformed their season and they are six points above the bottom three. Also above Tottenham Hotspur now in the table, I think they’ve got enough leeway to stay up - especially if they continue to be hard to beat. 

Villa’s FA Cup defeat to Newcastle was far from ideal, and they’d only won one of their last three in the Premier League prior to that. An entertaining draw is my best bet, but I’ll play things safe and back Double Chance - Leeds or Draw, as my second selection. 

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