Aston Villa vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
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Aston Villa v Leeds preview: Hosts wait on Gary Gardner ahead of Sky Live clash
Friday 30 December 2016 09:31, UK
Aston Villa will check on Gary Gardner ahead of Thursday's visit of fellow Championship heavyweights Leeds, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm.
The midfielder picked up a knock towards the end of the first half of Monday's 2-1 win over Burton and was replaced by Jack Grealish at the break.
Ross McCormack will face his former club fresh from scoring the late winner on Boxing Day - his first goal in over three months.
And the striker, who spent four years at Elland Road before moving onto Fulham and then Villa, is confident Steve Bruce's side can continue their upward momentum after a run that has seen them take maximum points from their last five home games.
"Leeds are a good team and are in good form so we need to be at our best. We are confident - we have won five home games in a row, so we need to take that belief into this latest fixture," McCormack said.
"I am looking forward to it. Leeds is one of the clubs that is really close to my heart. It will be a good game, I am sure."
Fellow forward Jordan Ayew is also pushing for a start after climbing off the bench to set up McCormack's strike.
Kyle Bartley will be fit for Leeds despite needing treatment after their 4-1 win over Preston following a clash of heads with Luke Ayling.
Chris Wood and Pablo Hernandez returned from hamstring injuries as substitutes at Deepdale - the latter hitting Leeds' fourth goal - and should be involved again.
Eunan O'Kane (groin) and Charlie Taylor (Achilles) are also close to returning but the game may come too soon.
A victory for Leeds would see them climb above Reading into third but Garry Monk has urged his players to stay focused.
He said: "We have to remember that despite the win (on Boxing Day), are only halfway through the season. We still have another half of the season to go and anything can happen."
