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Leeds United will resume their bid for Premier League survival with Saturday’s huge clash at third-placed Aston Villa - for which blows have left four men and six more doubtful.
Leeds and Villa were both in action in the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend, Villa going first with Saturday’s hosting of Newcastle United which ultimately ended in a 3-1 defeat.
Unai Emery’s side already had key men missing for the visit of the Magpies and Villa were then dealt further blows in the tie itself which may now have consequences as far as Saturday’s visit of Leeds is concerned.
Leeds, though, already without key men themselves, also suffered a fresh injury blow in Sunday’s clash at Birmingham City which went all the way to penalties after a 1-1 draw, a 4-2 win on spot kicks eventually putting Daniel Farke’s Whites in the fifth round draw.
All told, it’s now left four men out of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off at Villa Park and six others doubtful although three others are now back.
Here, we run through the early injury and team news from both camps.
7. OUT: Harvey Elliott
Midfielder Elliott joined Villa on loan from Liverpool in September and the 22-year-old has since featured both from the start and the bench for Emery’s side who sit third in the Premier League table. Emery, though, revealed on Friday that Elliott had suffered a blow which will rule him out of Saturday’s visit of Leeds. An injury which was not common knowledge beforehand and a fresh blow. | Getty Images
8. OUT: Alysson
Another fresh Villa blow of sorts, the club having signed 19-year-old Brazilian winger Alysson at the start of the January transfer window but the youngster needing time to get to speed with things and declared as out again by Emery at Friday's pre-match press conference. | AFP via Getty Images
9. OUT: Boubacar Kamara
One of three longer-term Villa absentees, with the 26-year-old set to miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury suffered in January's FA Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur. A big miss. | Getty Images
10. OUT: Youri Tielemans
Another particularly big miss for Villa, with Tielemans suffering an ankle injury in the 2-0 win at Newcastle United last month. The 28-year-old is thought to be looking at around eight weeks out and will therefore miss Leeds on Saturday. | Getty Images
11. OUT: John McGinn
Villa club captain McGinn suffered a knee injury in last month's 1-0 defeat at home to Everton and subsequently underwent surgery. Similar to Tielemans, he is thought to be looking at around two months out and will miss Saturday's game. | Danny Lawson/PA Wire
12. OUT: Marco Bizot
The Villa back-up goalkeeper was shown a straight red card in Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Newcastle and now serves a one game ban. It's unlikely he would have featured anyway, however. | Getty Images