Aston Villa: October represents make or break month in promotion chase
By Josh Tonti
The month of October may only bring three EFL Championship matches, but to Aston Villa it represents a make-or-break mental challenge following a run of impressive displays.
As we near closer towards the finish of an exciting international break, Aston Villa preps for an important away fixture to second-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Molineux Stadium will bring a raucous crowd with a match-up of two of the league’s biggest clubs. Wolves have lost just twice in eleven matches. Likewise, Aston Villa have not lost in a while, either. The claret and blue travel with a four-match winning streak on the hands of Steve Bruce’s (thus far) thrilling 4-4-2 formation.
While being mostly injury-free in September, Bruce took his chance to build continuity with a strike tandem of Jonathan Kodjia and 19-year old Keinan Davis. Saturday, and the whole month of October for that matter, may require slight lineup restructuring.
Neil Taylor’s red card suspension was upheld upon appeal. As such, he will miss three matches – arguably the three most important of the early season. The options at left back are numerous, but none exactly offer that much quality or enjoyment. Bruce could elect to switch either Alan Hutton, Ritchie De Laet, or James Bree to the opposite flank. Or he could give Birkir Bjarnason another run out at left back. 18-year old Mitch Clark remains an option too following an impressive cup display against Wigan last month.
After traveling to the neighbors at Molineux on Saturday, Villa follow-up with a home tilt against a tough Fulham side. The Cottagers currently sit in 10th-place, two points behind Villa, but expect them to be in the promotion push come late in the year.
The week after, a Second City Derby awaits at St. Andrew’s Stadium. Birmingham City, despite not being very good, will fight for a chance to beat their dreaded rivals.
In all, October is a really important month. The autumn season decides whether Aston Villa’s previous run-of-form was legit, or just a mere peak in an average club. Another international break in November follows – then a congested holiday schedule going into the new year.