Aston Villa striker Rudy Gestede (L). (Photo : Reuters)
Aston Villa (1-5-1, 4 points) will try to get out of its six-game winless run in the 2015-2016 Premier League as it faces a rejuvenated Stoke City (1-3-3, 6 points) at the Villa Park on Saturday, October 3.
The Villans, who have not scored a win since their season opening 1-0 victory over newcomer AFC Bournemouth on August 8 at Vitality Stadium, are in danger of relegation as it dropped down to the bottom three of the overall standings with their recent loss to Liverpool.
Rudy Gestede's double could not save Tim Sherwood's side from defeat as the Reds beat them at the Anfield on Saturday, 3-2, as reported by Mirror.
The 26-year-old Beninese striker scored in the 66th and 71st-minute marks but time ran out on the Lions as they could not overcome the early 2-0 lead built by Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Stoke City gained its first win of the season after it trounced the Cherries in their Saturday match at the Britannia Stadium, 2-1, via NBC Sports.
Strikers Jonathan Walters and Mame Biram Diouf scored at the 32nd and 83rd minutes respectively to lift the Potters over the struggling Boscombe.
The win pushed Stoke City out of the relegation zone for the meantime and they hope to follow it up with a second straight victory against Villa.
Prediction: A 2-1 win for Aston Villa. Sherwood's men are having a sense of urgency to avoid relegation next season and will start to perform better in this game against the Potters.
Betting odds: Aston Villa (+140), Stoke City (+210), draw (+220), via Bovada
Aston Villa starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Guzan; Lescott, Amavi, Hutton, Richards; Westwood, Gueye, Sánchez; Gestede, Grealish, Sinclair
Stoke City starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Butland; Wollscheid, Pieters, Cameron, Johnson; Shaqiri, Whelan; Arnautovic, Bojan, Adam; Walters
