Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Aston Villa

West Bromwich Albion host Aston Villa on Saturday evening as they look to record their first victory in six games.

The Baggies are in seventh place in the Premier League table but their form has stuttered in recent weeks, and they were also eliminated from the FA Cup by Queens Park Rangers in midweek.

Manager Steve Clarke is expected to recall several of the players that were rested against QPR, with Ben Foster, Liam Ridgewell and Chris Brunt expected to return to the side.

Like their West Midland rivals, Villa have struggled for form, and they arrive at The Hawthorns on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton.

That result saw Villa slip into the bottom three in the Premier League table and they will be desperate to bounce back with three points.

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert could recall captain Ron Vlaar after he returned to the first-team squad last weekend, while Gabriel Agbonlahor could be handed a start.

Recent form

West Bromwich Albion: WLLDLL

Aston Villa: LLDWLL

Possible starting lineups

West Bromwich Albion: Foster; Popov, McAuley, Jones, Ridgewell; Morrison, Thomas, Brunt, Dorrans; Rosenberg, Lukaku

Aston Villa: Guzan; Clark, Vlaar, Baker, Lowton; Agbonlahor, Westwood, Delph, Holman; Benteke, Weimann

Sports Mole says: 3-1