Villa boss' plans on hold

Alex McLeish will check on the fitness of a quartet of Villa players before finalising his side for the home clash with Sunderland.

The Aston Villa manager is waiting on news of utility players Ciaran Clark and Chris Herd (both head), defender Stephen Warnock (ankle) and winger Marc Albrighton (hamstring). Three of them picked up knocks last weekend against Manchester United but all four have returned to training and will be assessed in the next 24 hours. Striker Darren Bent has resumed light running after his ankle operation although he will not feature again this season. Andreas Weimann is hoping to keep his place up front while Barry Bannan could also feature again from the start.