Villa face Boro in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final on Tuesday.
Aston Villa are within touching distance of reaching the Championship play-off final after their narrow 1-0 in the semi-final first leg over Middlesbrough – and fans wants Steve Bruce to start Birkir Bjarnason.
Mile Jedinak scored the only goal of the game at the Riverside on Saturday afternoon, meeting Jack Grealish’s corner with an excellent header that left Darren Randolph with no chance in the 15th minute.
Now, promotion expert Bruce will be hoping to add a fifth career promotion from the Championship by either preserving Villa’s slender lead or indeed adding to it with home advantage in the second leg.
With only three days between fixtures after a long season, Bruce may be tempted to make multiple changes with a side that boast a number of players in their thirties.
Goalscorer Jedinak, captain John Terry, Alan Hutton, Ahmed Elmohamady, Albert Adomah, Robert Snodgrass and Lewis Grabban all started last time out and are in their thirties.
Villa fans have urged Bruce to consider starting 65-time Iceland international Bjarnason in order to keep things fresh, with one fan claiming the former FC Basel star should start for his “fresh legs”.
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