Predicted Aston Villa side to face Wigan: Injuries to force Bruce’s hand?

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Here is how we expect Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic to line-up ahead of their Championship encounter this weekend.

To be played on Saturday 18th March 2017 at 16:00. Venue: DW Stadium, Wigan

Odds: Wigan 21/10, Draw 21/10, Aston Villa 7/5

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce faces numerous selection decisions for his side’s trip to Wigan Athletic’s DW Stadium this weekend – mostly influenced by a string of unfortunate injuries.

Last weekend’s win over Sheffield Wednesday was Villa’s fourth victory in five games, which lifted Bruce’s side into the top half of the Championship table.

However, the cloud accompanying the silver-lining of the three points arrived in the form of an injury to midfielder Henri Lansbury in the pre-game warm-up; and then an early injury to Nathan Baker – forcing the central defender to be substituted in the 25th minute.

Bruce switched to a 4-4-2 system against Wednesday, with goal-getter Jonathan Kodjia being partnered with Albert Adomah in attack and accustomed right back Alan Hutton being deployed on the right of midfield.

Ahead of the game against Wigan, Bruce is expected to revert to a more established 4-3-3 formation, which could well see Tommy Elphick starting in Baker’s absence and Mile Jedinak restored to the midfield following a short stint in defence.

Another positional consideration for Bruce is whether to continue with Jordan Amavi as a left winger or select the fit-again Andre Green. The likelihood is that Amavi will get the nod ahead of the rookie and will be tasked with supporting Kodjia from the flanks.

Meanwhile, struggling Wigan are without forward Will Grigg for the visit of Villa, after the Northern Ireland international suffered a serious looking knee injury.

The Latics parted company with manager Warren Joyce following last weekend’s loss to bottom-placed Rotherham United – replacing the former Manchester United Under-21 manager with long-serving 62-year-old Warren Barrow; whose first task as manager is to try and halt an awful run of form that has seen Wigan plunge to 23rd in the Championship so far this season.

Here is the predicted line-up for both Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic, in full: