Leeds United v Aston Villa: The lowdown on Villa's injury woes, club record run and what Dean Smith has said

Leeds United host Aston Villa in the Championship on Sunday lunchtime - but what do you need to know about the visitors?
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish celebrates.Aston Villa's Jack Grealish celebrates.
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish celebrates.

What injury worries do Aston Villa have?

Aston Villa have been dealt a major blow ahead of this weekend's clash with Leeds.

Tammy Abraham, who has bagged 25 goals this season for Dean Smith's side, has been ruled out of the fixture.

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Villa, though, will see Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe return to the matchday squad.

“Tammy won’t play on Sunday," Smith revealed.

"But Axel is available. He’s trained the last two days. He’s fine."

James Chester, Kortney Hause and Lovre Kalinic are also all out injured but on the way back.

Smith said: "James Chester is back training now. Kortney Hause won’t be ready for Sunday but will probably be ready for the Norwich game.

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“Lovre Kalinic should start training on Monday. He should be available for Norwich and the Play-Offs so, again, yet more strength and depth for us.”

What is Aston Villa's recent form?

Current form: WWWWW

Aston Villa's recent run has seen them surge into the play-off picture as they secured their spot in the end-of-season showdown against Millwall on Easter Monday.

Dean Smith's side have now won a club record 10 games in a row heading into the clash at Elland Road.

Villa's last defeat came in mid-February at the hands of neighbours West Bromwich Albion, who they could face in the play-offs.

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Smith's team have picked up 34 points on their travels this season - with their record standing at nine wins, seven draws and six defeats from 22 away games.

Here are Aston Villa's key stats...

Games played: 44

Goals scored: 80

Goals conceded: 58

Yellow cards: 76

Red cards: 2

Shots per game (avg): 14.2

Possession (avg): 53.5%

Top goalscorer: Tammy Abraham (25)

Top assists: Conor Hourihane (10)

What has Dean Smith said?

On Leeds...

“It’ll be a very tactical game, I’ve played them a couple of times this season,” Smith said.

“They’re going for the automatic positions at the moment, so they’ll be going hell for leather, but we have to too because we want to maintain this run that we’re on, to continue it as best we can.

“It’s going to be a tough game."

On the recent defeats...

"I don't think it'll have an effect. They're programmed to win each game and they'll try and do that.

"We're exactly the same. It'll be tough, but we want the win."