Villa didn’t get the win they would have wanted against local rivals Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, but they picked up a point that could prove to be extremely valuable come the end of the season.
This draw now means that they have only been defeated once in their last 11 matches, picking up solid 23 points along the way.
As we all know, games come thick and fast in the Championship, and Villa have the opportunity to cement their place in the top six when they travel to Deepdale to face Preston on Wednesday evening.
Preston currently sit 9th in the table, 5 points behind Villa, and after having only picked up 2 points from their last 4 matches, they will be desperate to pick up a win against Villa in order to keep their own hopes of a play-off position alive.
Here’s our predicted Villa XI for Wednesday’s match against Preston at Deepdale:
GK: Sam Johnstone
Will start every league game this season unless he gets injured.
RB: Ahmed Elmohamady
Has been doing a decent job at right-back and we see no reason why Bruce would drop him for Wednesday’s match.
CB: John Terry
As captain and one of the best defenders in the league, there’s no way he will be on the bench.
CB: James Chester
Has formed a great partnership with Terry and Bruce will keep them together whenever possible.
LB: Neil Taylor
Hutton has done nothing wrong in the last three matches, but we see Bruce going back to Taylor who has been Mr. Consistency this season.
RM: Robert Snodgrass
Has started most games under Bruce, and we don’t think that trend will change on Wednesday evening.
CM: Mile Jedinak
Whelan had a decent game against Birmingham, but we reckon Bruce will give Jedinak a start in this one.
CM: Josh Onomah
Didn’t have the best of games on Sunday, but it would be unfair to drop him after one poor performance.
CM: Conor Hourihane
Will definitely start as Bruce needs his creativity in the midfield.
LM: Albert Adomah
One of Villa’s standout performers this season and one of the first names on the team-sheet.
ST: Keinan Davis
With Kodjia having picked up an injury against Birmingham, we reckon he won’t be risked for this match.