As we enter the latter stages of the 2018/19 campaign, Aston Villa will surely be fancying their chances of winning promotion via the play-offs this season.

The Villans have endured a phenomenal couple of months, with Dean Smith's men embarking on a record-breaking run of 10 league wins to cement their place in the top six.

Jack Grealish's return from injury has been influential for Villa, and Tammy Abraham keeps on scoring goals which have spearheaded Villa's promotion push this term.

And the West Midlands side will surely be backing themselves as favourites to beat the likes of West Bromwich Albion or Leeds United in the play-offs, in a campaign where their Second City derby rivals probably should have been challenging with them.

[ad_pod ]

Birmingham have endured a wild season to say the least - Garry Monk's men were well in the hunt for the play-off mix for the vast majority of the campaign, before they were hit with a points deduction which ended their push for the top six.

If it weren't for Che Adams' goals up top, then Blues may not have been challenging for promotion in the first place, though, and the club will surely be resigned to losing their talisman in the summer.

But in the recent PFA Championship Team of the Year, Adams was overlooked over his Midlands counterpart Abraham - but was it deserved? Here, we compare their seasons so far...

 

Goals are ultimately make a striker's stock rise or decline, and Abraham comes out on top in this battle. The Chelsea loanee has netted 25 goals in 37 appearances this season from 2.9 shots per game, compared to Adams' 22 goals in 44 games from 2.4 shots per game.

Abraham is lethal in the box, and it's clear that Smith wants him to stay up front and do his work in the 18-yard area, having completed just 0.7 key passes per game, compared to Adams' 1.5. The Chelsea youngster has also produced three assists, compared to his rival's four assists.

Abraham's presence also means that he has won much more aerial duels this season, winning 2.9 per game compared to Adams' 0.8.