Andreas Weimann

Andreas Weimann was incredibly unlucky during 2010-11 - but he'll be looking to impress new boss Alex McLeish during this campaign.

All started so well for the likeable Austrian in the previous term. He had a brief taste of senior action at Villa before an ankle ligament injury ruled him out for four months.

He was handed his Barclays Premier League debut as a substitute on the opening day of the season against West Ham United.

A few days later he made an appearance from the bench in his home city when Villa faced Rapid Vienna in the Europa League play-off round.

But he suffered a bad ankle injury, which led to a long spell on the sidelines.

He announced his comeback in style by scoring twice in the reserve team's 10-1 demolition of Arsenal at Hinckley.

He was then loaned out to Championship side Watford for the remainder of the season and greatly impressed manager Malky Makay with his industrious style up front and his willingness to work for the team.

Another product of Villa's highly-successful Academy system, the 19-year-old was top scorer for the second string two seasons ago, bagging nine goals as Kevin MacDonald's team clinched their third straight Reserve League South title.

His best performances included a brace in the reserves victory over rivals Birmingham City - Weimann scoring twice past England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

He was also in sparkling form in the national reserves play-off final against Manchester United in May, with a display which earned him a call-up to the provisional squad for Villa's final top-flight game of the season against Blackburn Rovers.