Leeds vs. Aston Villa Betting Tips: Two Tips for Sunday's clash in Yorkshire

After what has felt like an eternity without top flight football, the Premier League returns for October and the first Super Sunday of spooky season sees Aston Villa making the trip to Yorkshire to take on Leeds United.

Having not started in over a month, the hosts have had a long time to digest the way their positive start to the season quickly deteriorated. Having hammered Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road back in August, the Whites have gone three games without a win - most recently suffering their own battering at the hands of Brentford. Villa, on the other hand, have seen an uptick in results after a worrying start to their season.

Starting their campaign with four losses from five games had them languishing in the relegation zone with manager Steven Gerrard staring down the barrel of an early sacking, but a hard-earned point against Manchester City followed by a deserved victory over Southampton just before the international break has given them a little breathing space.

The permanent additions of Phillippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara, and Diego Carlos looked set to elevate the Villains to a new level but injuries and poor performances have been the story of the season so far, though not for everyone at Villa Park.

England youngster Jacob Ramsey has properly announced himself on the Premier League stage this term, and following up his assist against City by bagging the winner against Southampton was just the latest in a string of performances that has enamoured him to fans in the West Midlands.

He’s likely to be partnered in midfield by Douglas Luiz and John McGinn once again, as the aforementioned Kamara looks set to be a out for a couple of months with a knee ligament issue. Full-back pairing Matty Cash and Lucas Digne also look likely to miss out, whilst Diego Carlos remains sidelined indefinitely.

For the hosts - who will be without manager Jesse Marsch after he was handed a touchline ban for his sending off at Brentford - there is good news on the injury front for a change. Rasmus Kristensen should return at right-back whilst Junior Firpo should be available for selection after featuring for the under-21s throughout September.

Importantly Rodrigo, whose five goal involvements through three games was the catalyst for Leeds’ exhilarating start to the season, should return after a dislocated shoulder which has seen him unavailable since August. Luis Sinisterra may feel hard-done-by if he is to drop out of the starting XI to accommodate that though, having bagged two in two for his club side before the international break before netting three in two starts for Colombia against Mexico and Guatemala.

An extra added dimension to this game stems from the animosity that arises every time they face one another, originating when they faced one another in the Championship a few years ago.

While the bitterness between the two sides can be traced back to the wild celebrations following Leeds United’s last-gasp 3-2 victory at Villa Park in December 2018, the rivalry really reached a new level during their bizarre 1-1 draw in May 2019 - and the controversy surrounding both goals.

Mateusz Klich’s opener while Jonathan Kodija was down injured and the Villa players had virtually stopped caused a melee that saw Anwar El Ghazi sent off and handed a ban for allegedly elbowing Patrick Bamford - a punishment that was later reversed when it was revealed Bamford dived and he was instead handed a ban.

The controversy didn’t end there though, with Marcelo Bielsa ordering his side to allow a Villa equaliser - much to the dismay of Whites defender Pontus Jansson and the Elland Road crowd.

Since that game, their encounters have been nothing if not spicy.

In each of those Championship clashes, and in the four Premier League games they’ve contested, there have been a plethora of cards - with this particular bet landing in all six.

Last season alone there were 14 bookings and a sending off across the two contests, with the meeting at Elland Road conjuring up a remarkable eight yellow cards - the most referee Simon Hooper has shown in a single game since 2019.

Both of these sides are in good form when it comes to picking up cards so far this term too - with Leeds achieving two or more in five of their six games, whilst Villa have seen two bookings or more in six of their seven games.

Two things that don’t mix well are fiery players and fierce contests, and Tyler Adams has the former ahead of the latter.

One of Jesse Marsch’s big additions in the American takeover of Leeds’ midfielder, Adams has hit the ground running since joining from RB Leipzig and has had no hesitation when it comes to getting stuck on.

The 23-year-old has committed 12 fouls in his six starts so far this season, picking up two bookings already, as well as earning a card while on international duty last week. His tendency to find himself in card trouble isn’t new either, as anyone that watched him in the Bundesliga will tell you.

In his final season in Saxony, Adams picked up five bookings despite only starting 12 games - and that ratio got even worse in the Champions League. The USMNT star was booked four times in Europe’s premier competition last year despite only starting three games, averaging a yellow card once every 81 minutes.

Taking charge of this one is Stuart Atwell - the man in the middle for that fateful 1-1 draw three years ago - and he dished out six bookings and the aforementioned red card in that encounter.