Aston Villa ace Conor Hourihane braced for a battle at Burton

Steve Bruce’s in-form team make the short trip north to the Pirelli Stadium aiming for a third straight Championship win.

Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest extended Villa’s unbeaten run to six games and Hourihane admits they are in confident mood.

But he also acknowledges things are unlikely to be straightforward against Nigel Clough’s Brewers, who have already beaten Blues and Fulham on their own patch this season.

“Burton away will be tough, they have a good record at home,” he said. “It is a tight pitch, a tight ground. That will be tough.

“I know we had a few draws of late but it breeds an unbeaten run and we take confidence from that.

“Back-to-back wins are huge. It’s got the place buzzing. It’s a big game now on Tuesday and we will be going into that with a lot of confidence behind us. We feel we are slowly getting there.”

Hourihane bagged his fifth goal of the season when he fired home the winner against Forest. The 26-year-old is Villa’s top scorer and already halfway to his target of reaching double figures for the campaign.

“It is pleasing. I like to score goals and influence the game from that point of view,” he said. “To have five this early in the season is good.

“I feel I could probably have had a couple more if I am being hard on myself but five for now is not bad.

“We have a very good squad, players who aren’t even involved in the squad as well. Everyone is on their toes, the lads who are out there at the moment with the shirts are fighting to keep their place.”

Villa have ongoing injury concerns over midfield duo Henri Lansbury (foot) and Mile Jedinak (groin) after both were absent against Forest.

Jedinak, one of Villa’s best performers last term, has played just 45 minutes this season after undergoing surgery during the summer.