A two goal blast from Dean Saunders helped Aston Villa’s revival as Sheffield Wednesday crashed to their fourth home defeat of the season.

Saunders grabbed an opener midway through the first half and then produced another crucial strike just before halftime to sink Wednesday and dent their distant dreams of a European place.

Villa went in front with only their second serious attack of the game when they hit Wednesday with a lightning break.

Good work from Dwight Yorke created space down the middle and he picked out ex-Wednesday midfielder lan Taylor.

His angled ball into the area found Saunders unmarked and he finished off from close range.

Saunders struck though a minute the break when he met a Steve Staunton cross at the near post, glancing in a superbly judged header that beat Kevin Pressman.