Villa Blog: Steve Bruce must take the game to Cardiff

Villa will no doubt go into the game full of confidence after their recent run of form, and considering how they finished the game against high flying Brighton many fans will be expecting a strong showing, writes Justin Hawthorne.

It'll be interesting to see who starts this weekend, especially up top as Gabby Agbonlahor probably hasn't done enough warrant keeping his starting role.

I'd like to see the team that finished the game on the south coast given the chance to start as that was as good a Villa performance as we've seen this season.

The Jonathan Kodjia, Jordan Ayew and Albert Adomah axis is a real handful for any defence, and at home Villa will have the obligation to go for it.

Another interesting question is whether Jack Grealish starts.

If he does it will leave the midfield a little exposed, so Steve Bruce may be tempted to go with Ashley Westwood, Mile Jedinak and Gary Gardner instead.

This leaves him with the option of throwing Grealish on to give Villa a lift with half an hour or so to go if they're in need of something a bit different.

Honestly, I can't see anything other than a home win this weekend with Villa subsequently closing the gap between themselves and the top six.

However, they should be careful not to take Cardiff too lightly as they're a big club and Neil Warnock has already galvanised them, shown by their win over Huddersfield.

On a side note, it's good to see the appointment of Colin Calderwood as assistant manager.

While he's not a Villa man through and through, only playing a handful of games during his career, I'm sure he knows what this club is capable of.

What's more, the fact he's left Brighton who are currently 2nd, says a lot regarding Villa's lingering appeal.

Let's hope the club can really kick on and his decision is vindicated.