Leeds at the weekend, getting better every season and match facts from the BBC

We're back and thankfully no more breaks until next year and we start with a trip to Leeds and it's never a nice place to go and for sure it's not going to be a walk in the park as some might suggest.

We've only won two more games than Leeds this season and they are sitting 16th. I think that just goes to show how tight this season is and is likely going to be. It's the details that win matches and get you the points and they've just not figured it out yet.

But they will and I can't see Leeds going down this season although I suspect for many they are one of the teams that will struggle. And I'm not sure if I really like Leeds or not, but they are the size of Club that you want to see in the Premier League and not languishing in the Championship or lower. They feel like a proper Club.

All that aside and to the match, it's an important one for us. We need to keep our little run going and three points at the weekend will put us in a good place and help us to believe that it is more than just a little run. But it's coming after an international break and you never know how the players are going to come back.

But this is business and it's about getting stuff done. We have the squad, capable of winning this match and we know the manager wants it. There were times, under David O'Leary and I mention him only because he managed us and Leeds and lets not forget as a football manager he actually got worse every season, that we went out not to lose.

Times are different now and we know the manager wants to win every game. It's refreshing and it makes it more fun supporting Aston Villa. On Sunday we will see if we get those three points. Until then, it's back to work.

Match facts from the BBC

• Leeds are winless in their last five Premier League games against Aston Villa (D2 L3), since a 3-0 away win in October 2020.

• Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League away games against Leeds (W4 D6), going down 3-1 in May 2003 under Graham Taylor.

• Leeds have failed to score in each of their last three home league games against Aston Villa – they’ve never gone four without a goal at Elland Road against an opponent, while only at Everton (a current run of five) have Aston Villa kept more consecutive clean sheets.

• Each of Leeds’ last seven Premier League wins have been against sides starting the day in 13th place or lower in the table. They’ve won none of their last 17 against sides in the top half (D6 L11) since a 2-1 win at Liverpool (8th) in October 2022.

• Aston Villa are unbeaten in all 17 of their Premier League games against promoted sides under Unai Emery (W13 D4), with their last defeat coming in Steven Gerrard’s final game in charge in October 2022 (0-3 vs Fulham).

• Aston Villa (20% - scored 3/15) and Leeds United (22.7% - 5/22) are the two lowest ranked sides for big chance conversion in the Premier League so far this season. Indeed, only bottom side Wolves (6.7%) have a lower shot conversion rate overall than Leeds (7.6%).

• Aston Villa have scored more goals from outside the box than any other side in the Premier League this season, netting more from distance (7) than they have from inside the area (6). It’s already as many goals as they scored from outside the area than they managed in the whole of last season.

• Leeds have scored a league-high share 80% of their Premier League goals in the first half of games this season (8/10). Each of their last three strikes have come in the opening 15 minutes of games, with no side netting more in this time period overall than the Whites this term (3).

• Emiliano Buendía has been involved in five goals in his last five Premier League appearances for Aston Villa (3 goals, 2 assists), averaging a goal involvement every 39 minutes in these games. It’s as many goal involvements as he’d recorded in his previous 37 league appearances.

• Only Erling Haaland (11) has won more attacking first contacts at corners in the Premier League this season than Leeds defender Joe Rodon (10).