Express & Star

Steve Bruce seeks start of new Aston Villa winning run

Steve Bruce has challenged Villa to kick-start another winning run by beating Preston tonight.

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Defeat at Fulham last Saturday ended a run of seven straight victories for Villa, who also dropped out of the Championship’s automatic promotion places.

But with rivals Cardiff not playing until tomorrow night, Bruce’s men know a win at Villa Park would see them climb back into the top two for 24 hours at least.

And the boss said: “That is the aim. We have to dust ourselves down and go again. There is still a long way to go and a lot of games to play.

“They (Preston) have only lost six games all season. Add to that they’ve just gone and got a result against Wolves on Saturday. It’ll be a tough one.”

Villa won the reverse fixture at Deepdale 2-0 back in November but the visitors have been beaten just twice in the Championship since and sit seventh in the table.

The hosts will again be without top scorer Albert Adomah, while Jack Grealish and Ahmed Elmohamady are also doubts.

Bruce added: “In the Championship you get dealt lots of different challenges.

“On Saturday we were beaten by a really good football team who’ve got great pace in wide areas and base their game on possession.

“We’re going to get another one now against a different kind of side.”