Transfer deadline day has come and gone, so all football fans around the country will be turning their attention back to their respective leagues.
Next up for Aston Villa is a trip to the Madjski Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face Reading.
If Villa have had a mediocre season, then Reading have had a terrible one as they currently find themselves in 22nd place in the table with 24 points, one point adrift of safety (due to their superior goal difference).
Dean Smith’s men, on the other hand, are in 10th place with 42 points, and are 4 points adrift of the play-off positions. However, it must be mentioned that West Brom in 4th, Middlesbrough in 5th, and Derby in 6th all have a game in hand.
Villa got a much needed 3 points against Ipswich last weekend and they will need to get all three points tomorrow if they are serious about mounting a meaningful challenge for a play-off spot.
Here is our predicted Villa XI for tomorrow’s game against Reading:
GK: Lovre Kalinic
Kalinic will be Villa’s No. 1 for the foreseeable future.
RB: Alan Hutton
With Bree out on loan at Ipswich and Elmohamady out of favour, we’re certain that Hutton will be starting tomorrow afternoon.
CB: Tyrone Mings
It’s no secret that Chester has been struggling with a knee injury, so we reckon Smith will give him time to rest and play Mings at centre-back.
CB: Tommy Elphick
Elphick has been solid since he returned to the club, and we expect to see him start once again against Reading.
LB: Neil Taylor
With everyone fit, Mings would play on the left. However, since he is likely to be playing at centre-back, Taylor will start once again.
RM: Jonathan Kodjia
Adomah is short of confidence and form, so it might be worth Smith playing Kodjia on the right wing.
CM: Glenn Whelan
Whelan had a very solid game against Ipswich last weekend, so we expect to see him start in a defensive midfield role once again.
CM: Conor Hourihane
If Tom Carroll hadn’t just returned from a long spell on the sidelines, he probably would have replaced Hourihane in the starting XI. As it is, we expect to see the Irishman start once again.
CM: John McGinn
Has been on of Villa’s star players this season and is one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment.
LM: Anwar El Ghazi
El Ghazi has been very inconsistent this season, but we reckon Smith will start him the hope that he will terrorize Reading’s defence.
ST: Tammy Abraham
Abraham has 19 goals in 23 matches for Villa, so there is no way he will be sitting this one out.