Aston Villa and manager Steve Bruce remain desperate for points after collecting two in their last seven matches. Barnsley FC travel to Villa Park where Conor Hourihane gets set to face his old club.
Seven: The amount of points separating Aston Villa from mid-table and the relegation zone. Times are dark in Birmingham after successive defeats to Brentford, Nottingham Forest, and Ipswich Town.
It is that point in the season where Villa supporters must live with the realization that a second season in the Championship looms. The club would need to claim somewhere in the region of twelve wins from their final eighteen league matches – not an impossible task, but one that lays far from the depths of reality at the moment.
Kickoff tomorrow is slated for 2:45PM Eastern Time. Villa, again, will be without Mile Jedinak, whose groin injury continues to hamper his availability.
Jack Grealish returns from a one-match red card suspension, but James Bree and Gabby Agbonlahor are both out due to knee and hamstring injuries, respectively. The Birmingham Mail reports Steve Bruce may axe his 3-4-3 formation just two weeks after its inception.
PROJECTED ASTON VILLA XI (4-3-3): Johnstone; Hutton, Chester, Baker, Taylor; Lansbury, Bacuna, Hourihane; Adomah, Hogan, Kodjia.
SUBSTITUTES: Bunn, Amavi, Elphick, Gardner, Grealish, Bjarnason, Green.
In this scenario, Alan Hutton continues at right back through Bree’s absence. (side note, Alan Hutton is a curse with Ritchie De Laet and James Bree collecting knee injuries). Tommy Elphick drops to the bench after two matches of three at the back.
Jonathan Kodjia reluctantly starts on the left wing, but Neil Taylor or Jordan Amavi will provide enough cover on the flank for more central movement. Albert Adomah starts on the right with Scott Hogan as the number nine.
Birkir Bjarnason drops to the bench in favor of Leandro Bacuna. Bruce must shake-up his midfield somehow; Henri Lansbury acts as the holding man once again.
In case you missed it, above are highlights from Villa’s defeat to Ipswich. Courtesy of the official Aston Villa YouTube page.