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Aston Villa fancied to boost Wembley chances at Middlesbrough

Aston Villa visit Middlesbrough on Saturday for the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final.

Villa finished the regular season seven points clear of Boro, but they head into the two-legged tie with a handful of injury problems to contend with.

Axel Tuanzebe missed Villa’s final day defeat at Millwall with an ankle injury and manager Steve Bruce admitted that he will be lucky if he plays for the club again this season.

Neil Taylor could also be unavailable after he was sidelined for the clash against the Lions with a hamstring injury, while Birkir Bjarnason is a huge doubt after suffering a calf injury.