Squad sheets: Stoke City v Aston Villa

Gérard Houllier spoke endlessly today but it is the unassuming Kevin MacDonald who will take charge of Aston Villa for a sixth successive game on Monday. He will hope to build on the 1-0 win achieved over Everton before the international break and, in turn, bolster belief in the squad ahead of Houllier's eventual arrival. Stoke have the capabilities to wound the visitors, especially now Eidur Gudjohnsen has joined the ranks, and will be desperate to do so having lost all three Premier League games this season. Sachin Nakrani Venue Britannia Stadium, Monday 8pm Tickets £30-40 (0871 663 2008) Last season Stoke 0 Aston Villa 0 Referee L Probert This season's matches 2 Y 2, R 1, 1.50 cards per game Odds Stoke 13-8 Aston Villa 2-1 Draw 23-10 Stoke Subs from Begovic, Nash, Wilson, Soares, Gudjohnsen, Whitehead, Higginbotham, Pugh, Tuncay, Fuller, Wilkinson, Tonge Doubtful Sorensen (elbow) Injured Sidibe (achilles, May) Suspended None Form guide LLL Disciplinary record Y7 R0 Leading scorers Faye, Fuller 1 Aston Villa Subs from Guzan, Beye, Cuéllar, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Delfouneso, Sidwell, Clark, Ireland, Davies, Bannan, Lichaj, Hogg Doubtful Carew (knee), Ireland (hamstring) Injured Weimann (ankle, 2 Oct), Delph (knee, Jan) Suspended None Form guide WLW Disciplinary record Y6 R0 Leading scorers Downing, Petrov, L Young 1 Match pointers • Aston Villa have conceded more goals in their last six league games away from home (17) than in the previous 16 put together (16) • Stoke have won one of their last eight home matches in this division • Aston Villa have conceded more corners (35) this season than any other side in the top flight • If selected, Rory Delap will become the 82nd player to reach the milestone of 300 Premier League appearances • A win for Aston Villa would be their 50th of all time against Stoke in any competition