Preview: Aston Villa vs. Stoke City

Villa Park
© PA Photos
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish will send his side out at Villa Park hoping to record only their sixth home win of the season in all competitions.

The spirited 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday was the Villans' 13th league draw of the campaign - three more than any other top-flight team.

Meanwhile, after winning for the first time in five Premier League games, Stoke City will be aiming to record their first away league victory since January 2.

Andreas Weimann could start for Villa for just the second time in his career, while Gary Gardner is likely to return to the starting XI after starting on the bench at Anfield because of a virus.

Tony Pulis has hinted that he is likely to freshen up his Potters team following their 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

That could mean recalls for Wilson Palacios, Matthew Upson and Andy Wilkinson, who missed Saturday's fixture with a groin strain.

Current form

Aston Villa: DDWLLD
Stoke City: LLDDLW

Possible lineups:

Aston Villa: Given; Hutton, Collins, Baker, Warnock; Gardner, Bannan, Ireland, Andreas Weimann; Agbonlahor, Heskey

Stoke City: Begovic; Huth, Shawcross, Matthew Upson, Wilkinson; Pennant, Palacios, Whelan, Etherington; Crouch, Jerome

Sports Mole says: 1-1
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TeamPGDPTS
1Manchester United374388
2Manchester City373378
3Chelsea373572
4Arsenal373470
5Tottenham Hotspur371969
6Everton371663
7Liverpool372758
8West Bromwich Albion37-448
9Swansea City37-146
10West Ham United37-1043
11Stoke City37-1141
12Norwich City37-1841
13Newcastle United37-2241
14Southampton37-1140
15Fulham37-1340
16Aston Villa37-2240
17Sunderland37-1239
RWigan Athletic37-2635
RReading37-2828
RQueens Park Rangers37-2925