Aston Villa v Preston: Victory needed to lift the mood
When Villa lost at Preston earlier this season, it resulted in then manager Roberto Di Matteo losing his job.
A repeat at Villa Park tomorrow would not have the same consequences for successor Steve Bruce, though there can be no denying he enters the game facing more questions and with a bigger headache than at any other time since replacing the Italian in the hot-seat.
The expectation at Villa and stature of the club means that, in the Championship, they are forever a mere handful of poor results away from a crisis. Consecutive league defeats at Cardiff and Wolves ended Bruce's honeymoon period and, at a time of the season when many expected them to be clicking into gear, Villa suddenly find themselves lacking any momentum and 10 points adrift of the play-off places.
It is reasonable to claim Bruce has done perhaps about as well as anyone could with the players he inherited, but the drop-off in performances over recent weeks has been alarming and new arrivals, such as Nottingham Forest's Henri Lansbury, will be needed to lift the mood more than anything else.
The loss of top scorer and talisman Jonathan Kodjia to the Africa Cup of Nations has been keenly felt and the manager's attacking options for now remain limited to Ross McCormack and Gabriel Agbonahor, both horribly out of form. In the meantime, a win tomorrow would at least place a temporary brake on a growing mood of frustration among a fanbase still hopeful of an immediate return to the Premier League.
Getting it against a Preston team who have lost just three of their last 18 league games and sitting above them in the table will be far from easy, however. Villa have reeled off five wins in their last six homes games and retain the division's only unbeaten home record, yet tomorrow's opponents contain in their ranks several individuals with more reason than most to desire a victory in B6.
Among them are Daniel Johnson and Callum Robinson, two players who began their careers in Villa's youth team only to be later deemed surplus to requirements. Lilywhites skipper Tom Clarke is also a Villa fan, while their manager Simon Grayson made more than 60 appearances for the club between 1997 and 1999 and is in no mood to do his old team any favours.
"Along with Newcastle, they were the big team who came down," he said. "It would be a real feather in our cap if we can do the double over them, especially considering they are unbeaten at home as well. We are going there in good spirits, off the back of the result we achieved against the-then leaders (Brighton).
"We know it will be tough; they have some good individuals, but we are aware that they are not playing to their full capabilities at this moment in time."
Nathan Baker's status remains unclear after missing the defeat at Wolves through injury, while Andre Green could start after an impressive cameo at Molineux. Preston are without suspended duo Ben Pearson and Greg Cunningham.
