Birmingham Mail: Gabby Agbonlahor reckons Villa's success at Sunderland was the perfect precursor to their daunting triple-header against last season's Premier League top three. Villa host Manchester United at tea-time on Saturday and Arsenal visit Villa Park a fortnight later with the claret and blues playing at Manchester City in between.

Birmingham Mail: Richard Dunne has finally returned to first team training at Villa after his frustrating injury lay-off, Paul Lambert has confirmed. Dunne joined in with the rest of the group for the first time last week as he battles his way back from a persistent groin problem.

Mirror: Richard Dunne has returned to training as he battles to save his Villa career. The Ireland ace has been out with a groin problem since Euro 2012 and is now closing in on a comeback after two operations.

The Sun: Paul Lambert faces an anxious 24 hours to discover the full extent of Darren Bent's latest injury. Aston Villa's £24million England striker had a scan on his right ankle yesterday after missing Saturday's win at Sunderland.

Daily Telegraph: Richard Dunne is nearing a first team comeback at Aston Villa. The 33-year-old central defender has not made as competitive appearance under Paul Lambert after being forced to undergo groin surgery in the summer.

*The extracts on this page are taken from various newspapers and media outlets. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Aston Villa.