At A Glance
Aston Villa kick off a busy October schedule with a trip to Elland Road to play Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday.
It’s the first of six matches in a month for Steven Gerrard’s side, who’ll be looking to pick up where they left off before the international break.
A draw against Manchester City and a win against Southampton boosted the Villans in September, and they’ll now aim to take three points in an away league game for the first time this season.
It will be 29 days since Leeds last played when they step out of the tunnel on Sunday.
Jesse Marsch’s team were involved in only one game in September, losing 5-2 against Brentford as they continued an inconsistent start to the campaign.
Leeds have won two, drawn two and lost two of their six Premier League matches, scoring 10 goals and conceding 10 goals along the way.
Standout Stats
Villa have lost just one of their past 10 Premier League away games against Leeds, a 3-1 defeat on the final day of the 2002/03 campaign.
Villa could win three league fixtures in a row at Elland Road for the first time.
Leeds could remain undefeated in their opening four Premier League home games for the first time since starting the 1992/93 and 2001/02 seasons with eight-match unbeaten runs at Elland Road.
They conceded five goals in their last league fixture against Brentford, as many as in their previous five matches of the season.
Aston Villa have earned four points from their past two games, one more than in their opening five fixtures.
Douglas Luiz has scored direct from a corner in Villa's last two competitive away games.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa made light work of Leeds United when the two sides met at Elland Road back in March.
Philippe Coutinho dampened the mood on Marsch’s first home game in charge of the hosts when he scored after 22 minutes.
Further goals from Matty Cash and Calum Chambers in the second half secured a comfortable 3-0 victory for Villa.
Team News
Villa will be without Boubacar Kamara (knee), Diego Carlos (Achilles), Lucas Digne (heel) and Cash (hamstring) for the fixture.
Although, head coach Gerrard welcomes back Cameron Archer after an adductor complaint, Jan Bednarek also returns having been ineligible to face parent club Southampton last time out.
Leeds are set to be without Adam Forshaw (ankle), Archie Gray (toe) and Stuart Dallas, while Rodrigo has returned to full training after a shoulder injury.
The Boss
"I think we’re going to face a better Leeds team (than last season), a team who are more confident and have more belief in themselves. And we know we’re going into a really hostile environment, so the challenge is big. It’s going to be a tough game, but we’re in a good place ourselves on the back of a couple of positive results and we want to go there with confidence and belief. We want to go there and be really tough to beat and, as I say, we’ve got enough quality in our team to hurt Leeds at the right times as well.”
Steven Gerrard
