OPINION
Aston Villa entertain Stoke City in a crucial Championship clash on Saturday afternoon, and Dean Smith must attack if he wants to secure a valuable three points.
Villa will feel extremely hard done by after Jay Rodriguez equalised in the final minutes with his hand in a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion last time out, and Smith will be looking to get back in the win column against the Potters at Villa Park.
Stoke have recovered well from a slow start under Gary Rowett, with the Staffordshire side now unbeaten in eight games as they lie just two points behind Villa in the Championship table.
Smith is expected to be missing both Jack Grealish and Neil Taylor through injury, but he must see this as a chance to really get at Stoke and unleash a dangerous front four on their defence.
In goal, Orjan Nyland must retain his place as normal.
In defence, Taylor must be replaced by Ahmed Elmohamady, who slots in at right-back while Alan Hutton switches flanks to fill that space on the left. Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester must both keep their places in the middle.
A slight switch in formation must see both John McGinn and Conor Hourihane retain their spots and form a holding duo in the midfield.
Star man Grealish’s absence must see Smith experiment with a front four as speed demon Jonathan Kodjia comes in to the side, with Anwar El Ghazi, Yannick Bolasie and Tammy Abraham keeping their spots.
This is a Villa side which has a lot of firepower, and they will crush Stoke on Saturday if Smith opts with this XI at Villa Park.
