Villa v Sunderland preview

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has no fresh injury concerns for Monday's crunch clash with fellow strugglers Sunderland at Villa Park.

Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor played the full 90 minutes in their defeat by Manchester United on his return from a groin injury, leaving Lambert with only long-term absentees to worry about.

Midfielder Gary Gardner is working his way back to fitness after missing most of the season with knee ligament damage while Chris Herd, Marc Albrighton (both foot) and Richard Dunne (groin) remain sidelined.

Craig Gardner will return to the Sunderland squad for the vital game against his former club.

The midfielder, who can also play at right-back, missed the victories over Newcastle and Everton through suspension after reaching 10 bookings for the campaign, but is available once again.

Right-back Phil Bardsley is fighting to shake off the ankle problem which kept him out of the 1-0 win over the Toffees last weekend, but striker Connor Wickham will miss out once again with a calf injury, as will long-term absentees Lee Cattermole (knee) and Steven Fletcher (ankle).