Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will be hoping his side can pick up a valuable three points when they take on Wigan Athletic in a crucial Championship clash.
Aston Villa will take on Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Saturday in what has been a pretty hectic and dramatic week for the Midlands club.
Sky Sports reported a few days ago that Villa ace Tammy Abraham turned down the opportunity to join Wolves despite an initial scare that he was going to end his loan spell early after he failed to show up to training on Monday.
Instead, the Chelsea loanee returned to training on Tuesday to inform his teammates that he will see out the remainder of the campaign.
As a result, the recent absentee could now start for Dean Smith as he aims to close the gap on the Championship’s top-six in the race for promotion.
Over the course of the season, 21-year-old Abraham has struck 16 goals from 21 league matches, including a brace during his last encounter against QPR.
Added with that, goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, who made his debut during the FA Cup defeat against Swansea, could make his first bow in the league alongside fellow January recruit Kortney Hause.
The duo could potentially make their debuts as Smith aims to find quality and balance to a defensive backline that has struggled throughout the season.
Under the stewardship of the recently sacked Steve Bruce and now Smith, Villa have conceded 40 goals – two fewer than what they conceded on their way to the playoff final last term.
Nonetheless, against the Swans, first team players such as James Chester, Yannick Bolasie and Conor Hourihane were rested, so the trio could potentially return to the starting XI against Wigan.
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