Aston Villa will hope to close the gap on the top two with a win against bottom of the table Sunderland when they travel to the Stadium of Light tonight.
Steve Bruce’s side made it eight wins from their last ten league games after a 4-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last time out courtesy of two late goals.
Whilst they remain four points behind Cardiff City, they closed the gap to ten behind leaders Wolves – who they face on Saturday at Villa Park.
However, the focus will be entirely on Sunderland for now and Bruce has been boosted by the return of key attacking duo Albert Adomah and Jack Grealish.
Whilst the latter was rated at a doubt for the postponed game against QPR on three days ago, he is expected to be fit for tonight.
Here at FLW we’ve looked at which XI Bruce should go with tonight, which includes the talented 22-year old.
Be sure to let us know what your team would be in the comments below Villa fans!
The goalkeeper has had a fine season and starts when he is fit.
The 30-year old will be returning to his former club tonight and will be hoping to continue his consistent recent form.
Bruce has a settled centre-back partnership with Chester a key reason for Villa’s strong defensive record this season.
Similarly, the former England skipper has had a superb season and is sure to play tonight.
One enforced change will see Taylor come in at left-back for Alan Hutton who went off injured against the Owls last time out.
With seven goals from the wing, Snodgrass has established himself as a key man for Villa and will want to deliver another good performance.
There was a rare goal for Whelan at Hillsborough last time out that added to a dogged display, which should be enough to see him keep his place.
The former Barnsley man scored Villa’s vital third goal against Wednesday and will be a goalscoring threat from midfield again tonight.
It’s a major boost for Bruce to welcome back Villa’s 13-goal top scorer who will replace on-loan Tottenham man Josh Onomah in the side.
Bruce may be tempted to leave Grealish on the bench with Wolves in mind but the reality is that game won’t matter as much if Villa don’t win tonight.
Therefore, because he is fit he must start. The best player at the club.
That leaves a tough decision up top for Bruce between Scott Hogan and Lewis Grabban but the latter should get the nod as he scored at Hillsborough and is up against a side he knows well.