Saturday afternoon presents the perfect opportunity for Aston Villa to put pressure on the play-off places, with a trip to an out-of-form Preston North End side.
The Villans will travel to Lancashire full of confidence, on the back of an impressive 1-0 away victory at Swansea City at the weekend - Conor Hourihane’s second-half strike proved to be decisive as Villa secured their first win in four games.
It looks like it’ll be a straightforward task for Villa - Preston have lost their last two games and have struggled at Deepdale at times this season, so Villa will be looking to claim a vital win.
It’s a huge game for Villa - Dean Smith’s men have slipped down to ninth in the Sky Bet Championship table and find themselves still three points off the top six. But what does David Prutton think? The Sky Sports expert has predicted a 1-1 draw:
“Preston's climb up the table has been halted by back-to-back defeats either side of Christmas, and they were both in games you felt were winnable for them, which will disappoint Alex Neil.
"Aston Villa got back to winning ways at Swansea on Boxing Day but will need a few more of them if they want to get back up towards the play-offs. They have struggled at Preston in the past and I think they could be frustrated again. Score draw.”
Alex Neil’s North End side currently sit 17th in the Championship table, whereas Villa, who are unbeaten in their last four games away from home, will be looking to leapfrog arch rivals Birmingham City who sit seventh in the league.
The Verdict
This could be a real banana skin for Villa. Preston are more than capable of pulling off a shock, they have already gone to Forest and surprised picked up all three points, and Villa will know about their spirit and fight having been held to a 3-3 draw in October.
Villa have had James Bree fill in at centre-half instead of Axel Tuanzebe, and if the latter is missing once again this weekend, then they could have some real problems.
I think it’s too tough to call and I can’t see a hint other than a draw.
Thoughts? Let us know!