At a time when Ron Atkinson has cited a lack of leaders as one of the biggest problems facing his former club in their survival battle, the Republic of Ireland international has suffered a blow in his comeback plans.

Dunne, 33, was considered to be on the verge of returning to Paul Lambert’s youthful defence but the manager has given a worrying update in the wake of the 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United.

“It looks like he has had a setback,” the manager said. “We will have to wait and see over the next few days whether it settles down again. He trained on Monday but came in today (Tuesday) and felt something.”

With supporters close to giving up on any hope of transfer-market reinforcements before the window shuts on Thursday night, Dunne’s availability would feel like a big boost as he hasn’t played for the club since the defeat at Norwich at the end of last season. He then had five outings for the Republic before and at Euro 2012.

The Dubliner’s two previous clubs, Everton and Manchester City, appear ominously on Villa’s fixture list over the next month and a half, with a trip to Arsenal also thrown in. It is a tough run for a side low on confidence but at least midfielder Fabian Delph may be fit after a sprained ankle for the first of those assignments, at Goodison Park on Saturday.

And Gabby Agbonlahor, who won the penalty that accelerated last night’s sustained but unavailing rescue bid against Newcastle, said: “In the second-half performance, there was a lot more fight and belief. We have to take some heart out of that for Everton.”

Lambert acknowledges that his squad have to ‘fight like hell’ to haul themselves out of a hole that deepened with the good draws gleaned by QPR and Wigan on Tuesday.

Villa have taken only two points from their last seven League games, conceding 22 goals and scoring five in the process while also going out of the two domestic cups to lower-division opposition.

“If things don’t go your way, people don’t want to make mistakes,” the manager said. “They want to play the safe pass.

“The performance against Newcastle was night and day between the first and second half. We were too deep in the first half and too reserved with our passing. We are going to have to fight like hell to get ourselves out of it.”

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Toronto At Miami
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN2 (Toronto), Sun Sports (Miami)
Prediction: Heat 108, Raptors 96.

Oddsmakers currently have the Heat listed as 11½-point favorites versus the Raptors, while the game’s total is sitting at 197.

Toronto is finally getting some production from Landry Fields. The veteran small forward, signed to a lucrative multi-year deal as a free agent in the offseason, struggled to open the season before suffering a major elbow injury that knocked him out of action for a month and a half. He was inserted back into the starting lineup seven games ago and has been a solid contributor, averaging 7.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He had his best performance in a Toronto uniform against Los Angeles, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting while adding 10 rebounds and four steals.

Toronto won its last outing, a 108-103 result against the Lakers on January 20. The Raptors covered in that game as a 4.5-point underdog, while the 211 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Team record: 15-26 SU, 21-19-1 ATS
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Miami
is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Orlando are 4-6
After playing LA Lakers are 2-8
After a win are 7-3

Being the defending NBA champions has undoubtedly taken its toll on the Heat, making their five-day layoff akin to having an early All-Star break. For players like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James – perennial participants in the midseason showcase – the extra days of rest in January are even more critical. “It was good for our team,” Wade, who will take part in his ninth All-Star Game next month, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “We kind of get a rest. We are one of the oldest teams in the league. Guys mentally and physically kind of get away from the grind and get back into it.”

Miami won its last outing, a 99-90 result against the Lakers on January 17. The Heat covered in that game as a 2.5-point underdog, while the 189 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

Team record: 26-12 SU, 19-19 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of last 9 games at home
is 20-3 SU in its last 23 games at home

When playing on Wednesday are 8-2
Before playing Detroit are 8-2
After playing LA Lakers are 9-1
After a win are 6-4

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