Aston Villa assistant manager Gary McAllister will take temporary charge on Saturday due to the health concerns that have hospitalised Gerard Houllier.Gabby Agbonlahor is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to score a late winner at West Ham.
Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will start in place of Thomas Sorensen, who was preferred for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final victory over Bolton.
Fit-again Abdoulaye Faye could make his first appearance since early February.
Aston Villa
Injured: None
Stoke
Injured: Higginbotham (knee), Sidibe (Achilles)
MATCH PREVIEW
FA Cup finalists Stoke have not won a top-flight match at Villa Park since the year of the first spacewalk; victory for either side on Saturday would be a giant leap to safety.
Everyone at the club is concerned for the manager. But the news is that he's going to be all right...a good win against Stoke on Saturday will help him no doubt
Stewart Downing, Aston Villa
The threat of relegation still lingers for both clubs. Back-to-back wins for Villa mean they are one small step from securing their Premier League status, but their buoyant mood has been punctured in the last few days by the health problems that have confined manager Gerard Houllier to a hospital bed.
Assistant manager Gary McAllister has been placed in temporary charge for a top-flight fixture that Villa have not lost at home since 1965.
Stoke were, to use football parlance, over the moon to reach their first FA Cup final last weekend with the biggest semi-final triumph for 72 years at the expense of Bolton. However, the league demands their full attention as they are only five points clear of the bottom three. With a dismal away record and three matches to come after Saturday against relegation rivals, Stoke must guard against being brought back down to earth with a jolt.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Aston Villa have not lost a top-flight game at home to Stoke since November 1965, a run of 11 matches (W7, D4).
Aston Villa
• Villa are attempting to win three successive league games for the first time in a year.
• They have dropped 23 points from winning positions, the equal-most in the Premier League along with Sunderland.
• Gerard Houllier's side have conceded 54 goals - their most in the top flight after 33 games of a season since letting in 67 goals at the equivalent stage in 1986-87.
• Gabriel Agbonlahor could start for the 200th time in his club career. He needs one goal to reach 50 in the Premier League.
Stoke
• They have only taken five points from their last seven games.
• Stoke have lost their last seven away matches, and failed to score in five of those games. Their overall tally of 10 away points is second only to Wolves as the worst record in the division.
• The Potters have not lost a league match in which they opened the scoring (W8, D3).
• Ricardo Fuller could make his 300th league appearance.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Aston Villa
Bent: 17 goals* (14 league); A Young: 8 goals (6 league)
* Bent scored 11 goals (8 league) for Sunderland.
Stoke
Walters: 11 goals (5 league); Huth & Jones 9 goals (6 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Foy
Assistant referees: Trevor Massey & Bob Pollock
Fourth official: Mark Clattenburg
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Aston Villa (W2-1 v West Ham, a): Friedel; Walker, Collins, Dunne, L Young, Downing, Reo-Coker, Petrov, A Young, Bent, Heskey (Agbonlahor 78). Subs not used: Marshall, Pires, Albrighton, Makoun, Clark, Cuellar.
Stoke (L2-3 v Tottenham, a): Begovic; Huth, Shawcross, Wilkinson, Wilson, Pennant (Fuller 76), Whelan (Whitehead 76), Delap (Diao 76), Etherington, Jones, Walters. Subs not used: Sorensen, Collins, Faye, Pugh.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport