Stoke makethe short trip south to Birmingham to face Aston Villa in a difficult looking away fixture at Villa Park on Sunday. Villas form has been excellent this season, and they have surprised many people by storming into the Champions League positions after a long run of good results in the league, currently sitting in fourth place, six points clear of Arsenal in fifth. They will be keen to get back to winning ways after crashing out of the UEFA Cup last night, following a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Ru sian side CSKA Moscow. After a 1-1 draw at Villa Park, the away leg finished 2-0 to CSKA, with Villa manager Martin O Neill paying the price for fielding a weakened team, with eight first team members not travelling to Ru sia. Stoke also have gremlins toexorcise after conceding a costly late equaliser to Nicolas Meloche Jersey relegation rivals Portsmouth in the2-2 draw at the Britannia Stadium last Saturday. Hopefully this wont have put too much of a downer on our preparation for the match and we can approach it with the right mindset to gain an unlikely first ever Premier League away win.Stoke concede late to Portsmouth and Villa suffer at the hands of CSKA Moscow All eight of those players rested by ONeill in Ru sia should come back into the side for the Villains, with attacking trio Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and John Carew all set to feature. Influential centre-back Martin Laursen will mi sout for the hosts with a long-term knee injury, while the game will come too soon forDutch full-back Wilfred Boumawho is recovering from a six month spell on the sidelines after dislocating his ankle back in July. Wingers Rory Delap and Matthew Etherington remain suspended for Stoke, though top-scorer Ricardo Fuller could play some part after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, thatlooked set torule him out for the season, in just three weeks, Stoke manager Tony Pulis hailing the recovery as a miracle. Pulis has no new injury worries and may well name a rareunchanged side from the draw with Portsmouth, with Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen set to line up against his former club, after leaving on a free transfer in the summer in acrimonious circumstances, after a major fall-out with O Neill.Thomas Sorensen will return to Villa Park for the first time since an unhappy exit in the summer There is little doubt that Villa are in their elevated position on merit. With the frightening pace of Young and Agbonlahor (though it was surprisingly ineffective in the return fixture) going forward, and a Francois Beauchemin Jersey solid defensive core, O Neill has a sembled a very good squad, which generally produces fast paced exciting football with plenty of attacking potency, giving him ample opportunities to bring out hishappy as a child on Christmas morning only smaller routine that invariably follows a goal for his side. The return fixture, back in August was Stokes first home game back in the top flight, and ended with a 3-2 victory for the Potters, with Mamady Sidibe scoring a winner deep in stoppage time. Though a repeat of this scoreline is very unlikely, I think it is definitely po sible for us to gain a draw from the game, most likely goalle s, as Villa have had problems breaking down sides at home, with Wigan, Fulham and Portsmouth all escaping with hard fought points after 0-0 draws this season. Getting through the first half hour unscathed must be a priority for Stoke, as we have tended to crumble when we have conceded early away from home. The further we get into the game with a clean sheet still in tact, the more likely it will become that we can get a result and while no-one really likes to see teams playing for a draw, this may well be our best tactic for getting anything from the fixture.Key Battles:Ashley Young v Andy WilkinsonYoung is, in my Erik Johnson Jersey opinion, the best young English player in the game at the moment. With his pace and finishing ability from the wing, it will be tough for Stoke full-back Wilkinson to deal with him. Wilkinson has coped admirably with tough opposition so far this season though, his refusal to allow his opponents any time on the ball helping him to unsettle players. If we are to keep Villa quiet, it is vital that Wilkinson limits Youngs involvement in the game. Gabriel Agbonlahor v Ryan Shawcro sIn a battle similar to that between Young and Wilkinson, it will be nece sary for Stoke centre-back Shawcro sto put his own goal against Portsmouth behind him and be on top form against Agbonlahor, who is always a handful. Gareth Barry v Salif DiaoAfter a summer move away from Villa failed to materialise for Barry (poor thing, hell have to be content with just 40 grand a week), he has had an excellent season, pulling the strings in midfield as ever. Defensive midfielder Diao, who once spent time on loan at Villas arch rivals Birmingham City, has been in good form for Stoke since returning from injury and will look to stifle Barry to stop him influencing the game in the way he can. Aston Villa Squad:Goalkeepers: Brad Friedel (37), Brad Guzan (24), Semyon Varlamov Jersey Stuart Taylor (28), Elliot Parish (18)Defenders:Luke Young (29), Martin Laursen (31), Curtis Davies (23), Zat Knight (28), Carlos Cuellar (27), Nicky Shorey (28), Wilfred Bouma (30), Stephen O Halloran (19), Eric Lichaj (20), Ciaran Clark (19), Nathan Baker (17), Shane Lowry (19)Midfielders: Gareth Barry (28), Ashley Young (23), Steve Sidwell (26), James Milner (23), Stiliyan Petrov (29), Nigel Reo-Coker (24), Craig Gardner (22), Moustapha Salifou (25), Isaiah Osbourne (21), Marc Albrighton (19), Barryt Bannan (19), Chris Herd (19)Forwards:Gabriel Agbonlahor (22), John Carew (29), Emile Heskey (31), Marlon Harewood (29), Nathan Delfueneso (18), Sam Williams (21)Star Man: Gabriel AgbonlahorAgbonlahor, Villas top scorer this season with eleven goals, has really come into his own as a forward in the past year with some cla sy displays. The rapid 22 year old, who is of Nigerian descent, has spent his whole profe sional career as an Aston Villa player, though he did spend some time on loan at both Watford and Sheffield Wednesday four years ago, largely failing to impre s at both. Since signing on profe sional terms for Villa in 2005, he has played 110 league games for the club, scoring 31 goals. He also has two senior England caps, despite Nigerias attempts to get him to play for them. Though already a top player, Agbonlahor is still young, and if he continues his career in the way hes started it, the future looks very bright for him and for Villa for as long as he is in their side.Comparative Club Stats: Aston Villa StokeLeague Position: 4th 17thGoals Scored: 6430Goals Conceded: 46 49Home Record: (W,D,L) 8,9,4 7,5,4Away Record: (W,D,L)14,2,61,3,11Clean Sheets: 14 7Failed To Score:10 11Form: L L D L W W D L W L L DTop Scorer:Agbonlahor Adam Foote Jersey (11)Fuller (6)A panoramic view of Villa Park