Aston Villa vs Derby: Rams clash could be a play-offs test run

Whether their campaign lasts another four weeks, or just two, every game will have something big riding on it for either themselves or their opponents.

Remarkably, despite having been written off countless times during the course of the past month, Villa will kick-off against Derby tomorrow with their automatic promotion hopes still mathematically alive.

For that, they have the Rams to thank. Villa were 23 minutes away from being out of the race for good until Gary Rowett’s men fought back to beat Cardiff 3-1 on Tuesday night.

It was in all likelihood only a temporary stay of execution for Steve Bruce’s side. A victory for the Bluebirds at Hull tomorrow afternoon would finally close the door, no matter the result at Villa Park.

Yet, for now, Villa remain in with a shout and tonight’s game between Fulham and Sunderland will no doubt be watched with eagerness.

Even leaving aside the chase for the top two, this remains an important fixture for a number of reasons.

In addition to building on the current three-game winning run, there is still every chance the two teams might soon be meeting again in the play-offs. The opportunity to land some early psychological blows should not be taken lightly.

Were Villa to win, of course, the Rams would head to the final day of the season still sweating on a top six finish.

Conversely, a victory for the visitors would see them become the only team to beat Bruce’s men twice this term and could, depending on results elsewhere, confirm their place in the end-of-season shoot-out.

There is a definite sense Rowett’s men may have saved their campaign with Tuesday’s comeback.

The victory was just their fifth in the league since the turn of the year, a run which has seen what was once a seven-point advantage over Villa become a 10-point deficit. Derby’s former Villa defender Curtis Davies has now called on his team-mates to use a sell-out Villa Park crowd to their advantage.

Davies, who spent four years in B6 between 2007 and 2011, said: “It’s an amazing place. When you sign for a club like Aston Villa you know it’s a big club, but until you go to Villa Park and it’s a sell-out crowd you don’t realise just how big the club is.

“Just the sound that comes out of it when it’s a big game against a big team, it’s a place you want to be at.

“But it can also go the other way if things aren’t going right for you and there’s a team that you should be seen to be beating. Hopefully we can keep them quiet and turn them slightly against their own team.”

Villa have confirmed their players will embark on an end-of-season lap of appreciation at the end of the game, even though their business remains far from finished.