Aston Villa and Leeds United meet in a much-anticipated Championship fixture at Villa Park on Thursday night.

The hosts have won three of their last four league matches and bounced back from a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Norwich by recording one-goal wins over Queens Park Rangers and Burton Albion respectively to move up to 10th in the standings.

Meanwhile, despite a disappointing start to the campaign, Leeds have been one of the division’s form teams in recent months and they are currently enjoying a three-match winning run, including a 4-1 thrashing of Preston North End at Deepdale on Boxing Day.

Earlier this month, these two met in a fixture at Elland Road that ended in a 2-0 win for the hosts, so both sides will know that there are players who can be match-winners on the opposition team.

Here are three key battles that could decide where the encounter is lost and won…

Kemar Roofe vs Mile Jedinak

It may have taken him 22 games to get his first Leeds United goal after a big-money transfer from Oxford during the summer, but the attacking midfielder has certainly found some confidence since he scored in the 2-0 win against Aston Villa at the start of December.

Roofe scored the first and set up another in the 4-1 success against Preston on Boxing Day, and Villa defensive midfielder Jedinak will certainly have to keep a close eye on the 23-year-old at Villa Park if Steve Bruce’s side are to avoid another defeat against the Yorkshire outfit.

Jonathan Kodjia vs Kyle Bartley

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The Ivory Coast international has established himself as Aston Villa’s first choice striker this season, and he has certainly gone some way to repaying the faith that has been shown in him by scoring eight Championship goals - including a winner against QPR earlier this month.

He will be full of confidence but faces a tough battle against Bartley, who has shown why he is rated as one of the best centre-backs in the Championship this term by helping keep Leeds right in the promotion mix.

Souleymane Doukara vs James Chester

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The tall forward has found himself deployed up top instead of his usual attacking midfield position in Leeds’ top goalscorer Chris Wood’s recent absence, and certainly impressed on Boxing Day by scoring a terrific goal in the 4-1 win against Preston.

Even though Wood is fit again, Garry Monk could choose to stick with Doukara at Villa Park. He will have an intriguing battle with Villa centre-back James Chester, who has established himself as Steve Bruce’s preferred central defender this term.