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Key Battles: Aston Villa vs Reading FC

Reading face Aston Villa looking to redeem themselves, following their embarrassing and humiliating defeat at Norwich last week.

Reading v Aston Villa - Sky Bet Championship Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images

Jonathan Kodjia vs Tyler Blackett

Jonathan Kodjia, who arrived from Bristol City in the summer for a reported fee of £11 million, leads the line for the Villains.

In his 37 league appearances this season, Kodjia has 19 goals putting him behind only, Tammy Abraham (21), Glenn Murray (21), Dwight Gayle (22) and Chris Wood (25) in the goal-scoring charts.

The former Bristol City man has a bit of history against the Royals, having scored the opener in Aston Villa's 2-1 win at the Madjeski Stadium earlier this season.

Most of Kodjia's goals have come from when the striker has cut inside or from when he has got in behind defenders with his pace.

Tyler Blackett will therefore have a really tough job on his hands, when he squares off against Villa’s lethal striker. Like all of Reading's defenders, Blackett had an awful game against Norwich having struggled to deal with the Canaries deadly attackers throughout the match.

In his last two games Kodjia has opened the scoring for Villa within the first five minutes. This is something that Reading cannot afford to happen, as we all know too well.

If Reading are to redeem themselves with a win they will have to stop a forward who has scored four goals in his last three games from getting on the score-sheet.

Here's a taster of what Kodjia can do, when he's at the top of his game.

Albert Adomah vs Jordan Obita

Having made the surprise move from Middlesbrough in the summer, despite their promotion to the Premier League. Adomah is now demonstrating why he is one of the league's best wingers.

With three goals and 11 assists so far this season, Aston Villa are now reaping the rewards having paid a reported fee of £3 million to secure his services.

On his day, the Ghanaian can cause problems for any team with his pace, trickery and crossing.

Manager Jaap Stam is expected to make changes at the back following the shocking performance at Carrow Road.

I therefore expect Jordan Obita to come in at left back, with the 23 year old making his return from injury last week.

If Obita can replicate his performance against Leeds in which he kept Hadi Sacko quiet. It will surely give the Royals encouragement, as they look to come away from the Midlands with all three points.

Mile Jedinak vs John Swift

Another key battle will take place in the middle of the park between Mile Jedinak and John Swift.

Operating as a defensive midfielder, Jedinak's role is to stop the opposing creative players from getting on the ball and making key passes to their attackers. The 29-year-old's role is also to stop the play from being dictated in the opposing side’s favour.

Swift could therefore have a tough game on his hands when he comes up against the Australian.

The 21-year-old has had an excellent first season for Reading with seven goals and seven assists in 32 appearances. His performances have not gone unnoticed, with the former Chelsea man narrowly missing out on winning the EFL Young Player Of The Season award.

If Swift can produce another memorable performance, it could make the difference between a win and another loss on the road.

However, he will be up against a tough Villa side who have won four out of the last five games.