Aston Villa v Sheffield United: Predicted line-ups, history lesson, one to watch and match odds for trip to Villa Park

Chris Wilder's men are, at the time of writing, 13/8 to prevail at Villa Park with league sponsors SkyBet, with Villa priced the same and the draw 12/5.

Predicted line-ups: Aston Villa: Lovre Kalinic, Tommy Elphick, Neil Taylor, Alan Hutton, Tyrone Mings, Albert Adomah, John McGinn, Glenn Whelan, Anwar El Ghazi, Conor Hourihane, Tammy Abraham.

Sheffield United: Dean Henderson, Chris Basham, John Egan, Jack O’Connell, Enda Stevens, George Baldock, Oliver Norwood, John Fleck, Mark Duffy, Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick.

Referee: Tony Harrington. Harrington will be taking charge of Sheffield United for the third time this season, having overseen their win over Wigan Athletic at Bramall Lane and FA Cup defeat by Barnet. He averaged 4.5 cautions per game during those fixtures, compared to his season’s figure of 3.5. Timothy Wood and Shaun Hudson are scheduled to be his assistants in the Midlands.

History lesson: Jack O’Connell, Mark Duffy, Oliver Norwood and Billy Sharp were all on target when Sheffield United beat Aston Villa 4-1 in September, before Anwar El Ghazi scored a consolation for the visitors. Three of those goals during the first-half of the game, with Sharp finding the back of the net early in the second. The corresponding fixture last season finished all square, with Clayton Donaldson dragging United from 2-0 down at Villa Park following efforts from Albert Adomah and Mile Jedinak.

One to watch: John McGinn. Previously of St Mirren and Hibernian, the 24-year-old midfielder emerged as a target for Sheffield United, then managed by Nigel Clough, during his spell in Paisley. Older brother Stephen was already on the books at Bramall Lane. Capped by Scotland at under-21 level, he made his senior international debut three years ago.