Aston Villa are well placed in the Sky Bet Championship table, with Steve Bruce’s side knowing that they are heading into a crucial festive period in a fantastic position to push on a secure a top-six finish.  

Back-to-back draws have dampened the mood around Villa Park, but Bruce knows a positive run over the course of Villa’s next four fixtures will help strengthen their grip on a top-six place heading into 2018.

Starting next week, Villa face Sheffield United, Brentford and Middlesbrough in a gruelling seven-day period, but before that are tasked with a tricky clash against Derby County at the Pride Park Stadium.

Bruce has been previewing that fixture, confirming that Villa will welcome back Mile Jedinak for the trip to Pride Park, but also confirming that Chris Samba, Henri Lansbury and Alan Hutton all look set to miss tomorrow’s clash.

Following Bruce’s mixed team news, there was a mixed reaction from Villa’s supporters, as expected.

Here is some of that reaction…

[ad_pod ]