Aston Villa host Reading in the Championship at Villa Park on Saturday.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
David Prutton has told Sky Sports that he expects Aston Villa to draw 1-1 with Reading on Saturday, but suggested that the Villans’ Jekyll and Hyde form this season makes it difficult to predict how they will get on.
Steve Bruce’s men go into the final five games of the season knowing that promotion is out of the question for this year, while the Royals will be looking to get their promotion charge back on track after a disastrous result in their most recent game.
Jaap Stam’s men were dispatched 7-1 by Norwich City at Carrow Road, with the Canaries putting six goals past the promotion chasers in the first-half.
And while Prutton is expecting Reading to do everything they can to put things right at Villa Park, he suggested that Villa’s unpredictability could prevent the high-flyers from getting back to winning ways.
“You’d like to think we’d see a huge reaction from Reading following their annihilation at Norwich. However, faced with a Villa team who have been Jekyll and Hyde, you can’t be too sure,” he told Sky Sports, while explaining why he expects a 1-1 draw.
Reading manager Jaap Stam
“Steve Bruce has made it clear that next season’s target is promotion and nothing less, so finishing the season strongly will only help for the forthcoming campaign. I expect to see a response from Reading, but Villa will be a tough nut to crack.”
Though Prutton is unsure which Villa will turn up, it is fair to say that they have been much more consistent lately, and have actually shown the kind of form that you would expect to see from a team challenging towards the table’s summit.
Although Bruce’s men struggled against Burton in their most recent game, they had previously won seven of their last eight fixtures, staggeringly conceding just one goal during that run.
And if they can put the Burton draw behind them, then perhaps they will be able to get some more momentum under their belt ready for a potential promotion charge next season.
Harming Reading’s own promotion hopes would certainly give them a major boost.
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