Leeds United v Aston Villa preview: The first big test for Bruce’s renaissance men arises

Before we get into things, one of our writers, Robb Jones, is a father (once more) - so please seek him out and give him lots of love. He’s a real champ, an awesome dude and a good friend. Also, he loves the Villa.

Now, onto business. Leeds United are the next big test for Aston Villa, and boy - is this one of the more exciting Aston Villa sides in recent history! I say that with real meaning, it’s been an age since Villa have been this fun to watch. There can be some real poor spells, but when this team turn it on, they turn it up to 11.

What to know about Aston Villa

You know the deal. Albert Adomah can’t stop scoring, Alan Hutton and Glenn Whelan are in peak form, Robert Snodgrass - for all of his flaws - is creating chances at a world-class (yes) pace and Villa look solid, even with some heavy injuries.

Mile Jedinak, Andre Green, John Terry, Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia are missing, but that hasn’t mattered much, because Villa’s reserve players have really stepped up in a big way and that hasn’t stopped - yet.

The thing is, when we are looking forward to Villa doing well, they do collapse - and everything is on the cards for a stodgy game where the ball doesn’t leave midfield. However, this Villa team has an edge on the wing - Albert Adomah. He’s in the form of his life and despite limited ability, is looking like a world-class talent. Long may it continue.

What to know about Leeds

We’ve done a lot of preview work on Leeds this week, because we have a soft spot for some of their fans - great people like Pete at Through It All Together and Jon Mackenzie. Any excuse to talk to those guys is worth it, so yeah - there’s a lot of stuff on site for you to go through:

• Myself & Dani Raza previewed the game on Sunday’s Holtecast
• Matt went over to Pete and TIAT to get some knowledge on Leeds
• In an extra Holtecast, I spoke to Jon Mackenzie about his team, Leeds

So, we’ve got two podcasts and an article for you there!

Villa can afford to drop points here, but it’s still problematic in the sense that dropping points only contracts the playoff position. Villa are six points clear of dropping out, so a three point loss isn’t the worst thing in the world. If the Villans are serious about automatic promotion, they need to do Leeds in.

However, Leeds are in dire form and in reality, could do with turning over Villa at Elland Road. They are a danger and Villa need to be in 5th gear as soon as the whistle blows for kick off.