Seven out of seven! We are officially the form team of the Championship! But let’s not stop there. Bring on Bristol City!
It was such a great win against Rotherham and yes, on paper we should be beating them. On the night things didn’t quite go to plan, at first. It didn’t seem like it was going to be our night.
A missed penalty by Tammy Abraham and then the sending off of Tyrone Mings which with the resulting penalty put us 1-0 down. I feared the worst at this point but I was wrong. The team showed real grit, determination and commitment to win the game 2-1 and we deserved it. I would go as far as to say that out of the seven wins in a row, this was the best performance of the lot.
Fate is now in our own hands
For now, everything is in our own hands. We don’t have to rely on results elsewhere. Our fate is back in our own hands. We currently occupy fifth with Bristol City a point and a game in hand over us. They do come to Villa Park this weekend though. A win would put us four points ahead making us uncatchable through that game in hand.
Just below Bristol are Middlesbrough and Derby County. Middlesbrough are five points behind us having played the same amount of games. Six points separate ourselves and Derby but they do have a game in hand meaning they could reduce the gap to three points.
Centre-half predicament
Just when we thought out defensive problems were solved, Mings picks up two yellow cards and gets sent off against Rotherham. This leaves Dean Smith short in the centre-half position.
Kortney Hause is a major doubt and will have a late fitness test before the game against Bristol City. Villa has also confirmed that Tommy Elphick will be out but more interestingly, there was no mention of James Chester. Does Smith have a card to play?
It is expected that Mile Jedinak will fill the void and partner Axel Tuanzebe. It’s certainly not ideal but we must cope if we are to take all three points this weekend.
I honestly believe we can beat anybody at the moment. Despite Bristol City being right behind us at the moment, I can see us winning convincingly at home. Come on Villa!
