Aston Villa will be looking to gain ground on the Sky Bet Championship play-off places on Tuesday, with a win over promotion rivals Queens Park Rangers at Villa Park.

The Villans will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 1-1 away draw at Preston North End on Tuesday afternoon - Dean Smith's men have slipped down to 9th in the table, five points off the play-offs.

Dean Smith's men will fancy their chances, considering that they have lost just once at home since the former Brentford boss' arrival in October.

Steve McClaren's men currently sit one place and one point above Villa, and will also be looking to get back to winning ways after a disappointing 0-0 home draw with the division's strugglers Reading at the weekend.

A huge three points are up for grabs on New Year's Day, so what does David Prutton predict? The Sky Sports pundit has predicted a 2-1 home win for Villa.

"It's not been a great run for Aston Villa and they are starting to lose touch with the play-off places, having won just one of their last five games.

QPR saw their winning run come to an end on Saturday but they will be feeling confident of a result heading to Villa Park. But I just have a feeling that Dean Smith's side will have too much quality for them."

Villa have only won one of their last five league games, whereas the R's are unbeaten in their previous four league outings.

The Verdict

I'm really not sure that I agree with Prutton - I just can't see this being as straightforward for Villa.

They may have been very impressive at home under Smith, but with a defence like Villa's, the opposition always have a chance of scoring.

I can see the R's nicking a point.