Aston Villa have been magnificent in the Sky Bet Championship over the past few weeks and will go into the play-offs full of confidence.

Villa extended their incredible unbeaten run to twelve matches with a draw against Leeds United at Elland Road at the weekend and will go into the play-offs semi-finals with some serious momentum behind them.

Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane have all been highly influential for Villa this season and the midfield trio could make all the difference in the play-offs.

Grealish has been outstanding for Villa since his return from a three-month injury lay-off and continues to grow in confidence every game.

The 23-year-old has become the player that everyone at the club hoped he could be and has set an excellent example for his teammates since being made captain of his boyhood club.

McGinn has been a brilliant signing since joining from Hibernian in the summer and has been exceptional, adding a different dimension to the team with his terrific work-rate in midfield.

Meanwhile, Hourihane has looked even better than the player who helped Villa reach the play-off final last year and has kept on improving under Dean Smith.

All three players have been the driving force behind Villa's twelve-match unbeaten run, which included a club-record ten consecutive victories.

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Of course, the Villa boss deserves enormous credit for the way he has been able to get the best out of the players and the way he has got them all playing for each other.

Momentum can be so important at this stage of the season and after the run they have been on, nobody will want to face Villa in the play-offs.

Somewhat ironically, it looks like it will be West Brom, the last team who beat Villa, that will come up against them in the semi-finals.

This is a completely different Villa team though, a team hungry for success and a team with a midfield trio who are arguably the best form of their careers.