Derby vs Aston Villa: Rams a tough test of credentials

It is why tomorrow’s trip to Derby County has taken on an increased significance.

In truth, it is a fixture which has for weeks stuck out, the start of a five-game run which takes Villa into the New Year and pits them against three of their current top six rivals, while also including testing trips to Brentford and Middlesbrough.

After three months when their momentum has very much been evident, last Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Millwall was a rare mis-step for Bruce’s men. For the first time since mid-September, they have gone two games without a win.

A third consecutive draw tomorrow would be far from a disaster, particularly against Gary Rowett’s Rams, one of the few teams in the division who can claim to have matched Villa’s recent form.

There remains a feeling though, that if Villa really are the genuine top two contenders they claim to be, they will at some point have to take some notable scalps and the short trip north offers an opportunity for that too.

Bruce has been here too many times before to be overly concerned by the seven-point gap which currently separates his team from the automatic promotion positions. All the same, it is a margin he will not want to see grow any larger between now and January 1.

“Results make everyone feel better but we have only just started,” said the boss. “We’ve got a huge Christmas coming up.

“We have to be in the shake-up when the turn of the year comes around.

“There’s a lot of people in a far better place than they were 12 months ago, which is good.

“But there is a big, huge time to come now. We have just started and right now have barely scratched the surface.”

Derby have won four of their last five league games, last Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Barnsley lifting them above Villa to fourth in the table.

Their team tomorrow is meanwhile likely feature several players familiar to Villa supporters.

Andreas Weimann made more than 100 appearances, scoring 17 Premier League goals, before moving to Pride Park for £2.5million in the summer of 2015.

The Bodymoor Heath academy prospect is yet to face his former club and excited by the prospect.

“I’m going to look forward to that, because I’ve not played against them yet,” said Weimann. “I’m really excited.

“It will be a big game, obviously because of the table but also because our home games are really important to us. We want to pick up as many points as we can at home.”

Weimann is one of two former claret and blue strikers on Derby’s books, though Darren Bent, who remains Villa’s record signing, is yet to play this season after suffering a serious hamstring injury.

One-time Villa loanee Scott Carson has meanwhile been in impressive form between the sticks for the Rams, with Curtis Davies, who once signed for £11million from Albion, at centre-back.