Kodija to start in place of Grealish? – Predicted 4-3-3 Aston Villa XI to face Stoke City in the Championship

Predicted Aston Villa XI to face Stoke City in the Championship

Aston Villa played out a 2-2 draw against West Brom at the Hawthorns in the Championship last week but the Lions will be the favourites when they play host to Stoke City on Saturday.

Dean Smith’s men are currently unbeaten in their last six outings in the Championship and they have a good chance of claiming all three points against the Potters at the weekend.

Gary Rowett’s side are currently 10th in the standings and they will be looking to get something out of this game after beating Ipswich Town 2-0 in their last outing.

Team News

Dean Smith has a few injuries to contend with for Saturday’s clash. Jack Grealish suffered a shin injury in the last game and is doubtful to feature while Neil Taylor and James Bree are also struggling with injuries. Albert Adomah (ankle), Birkir Bjarnason (groin) and Henri Lansbury (hamstring) are all ruled out while Keinan Davis is back in training and will be pushing for a return.

Formation: 4-3-3

Manager: Dean Smith

Predicted XI

1. Orjan Nyland (GK)

He did pretty well in the last game but has been a bit shaky between the sticks this season.

2. Alan Hutton (LB)

The Englishman made some good tackles and interceptions against West Brom and should be amongst the starters for this one as well.

3. Axel Tuanzebe (CB)

He put up a dominant display at the heart of the defence against the Baggies in the last game.

4. James Chester (CB)

The Englishman won plenty of aerial balls in the last game and has been one of the standout performers for the Lions at the back this season.

5. Ahmed Elmohamady (RB)

The injury to Neil Taylor might force Dean Smith to swap Hutton to the left and accommodate the Egyptian in the starting eleven.

6. John McGinn (RCM)

He put in the hard yards in the last game and was unlucky to have his shot come back off the post.

7. Jonathan Kodija (LCM)

The injury to Jack Grealish might open the door for the Ivorian to get a start.

8. Conor Hourihane (CM)

He did a decent job from a deep position in the midfield against West Brom and should start this one.

9. Anwar El Ghazi (RW)

The Dutchman will be in high spirits after scoring a brace in the last outing and Villa will need him to deliver the goods once again this Saturday.

10. Yannick Bolasie (LW)

The Everton loanee troubled the opposition with his powerful runs last week and created a few good chances.

Read More:- This out-of-favour Wolves star is exactly what Dean Smith needs to shore up Aston Villa’s leaky defence

11. Tammy Abraham (ST)

The youngster missed a few chances in the last game but he has been in tremendous goalscoring form in recent weeks.