Aston Villa currently sit in third position in the Championship table.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson explained why Aston Villa could hold the advantage in the race for the third promotion place this season, when writing a column for Sky Sports.
Villa have been on a fine run of form recently, but their excellent spell was brought to an abrupt end by Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night, and they now sit seven points adrift of second placed Cardiff City, with just nine Championship games remaining this season.
Steve Bruce has done a fine job this season, but with expectations being so high at Villa Park, anything less than promotion to the Premier League will be viewed as a failure.
Merson, who spent four years with Villa from 1998-2002, explained why his former club have the luxury of being able to rest players ahead of the lottery of the play-offs, when writing a column for Sky Sports:
“After those two (Wolves and Cardiff), it’s an absolute lottery between Villa, Fulham and Middlesbrough. Villa probably have to concentrate on the play-offs, so knowing that could give them time to rest a few players.”
Next up for Villa is a crucial trip to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow, and nothing less than a win will do, if they harbour genuine ambitions of finishing inside the top two this season.
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