Aston Villa’s woes continued with a 3-1 home defeat to Barnsley on Tuesday night.
James Bree (L) in action with Fleetwood Town’s David Henen
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has told the Birmingham Mail that full backs James Bree and Neil Taylor missed Tuesday’s defeat to Barnsley with injuries.
Villa went into Tuesday’s clash having lost five of their last six Championship games, picking up just one point since the start of 2017.
Manager Bruce was desperate for a return to winning ways having lost 1-0 to Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, handing Villa their first home league defeat of the season.
However, what Villa got was another home defeat, with Barnsley opening the scoring through Adam Armstrong’s penalty after Marley Watkins had been fouled by Jordan Amavi.
Tom Bradshaw made it 2-0 shortly after, and whilst Jonathan Kodjia pulled one back for Villa before half time, Bradshaw struck again, smashing a low drive into the net after Villa had failed to clear their lines.
The 3-1 defeat means Villa are a whopping 19 points off the play-offs, effectively ruling them out of contention for the top six, but only seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
Bruce desperately needs results to get fans back on side, as the club’s January spending spree hasn’t improved matters so far, with Villa struggling to score goals and leaking too many at the back.
After the final whistle at Villa Park, manager Bruce told the Birmingham Mail that two January signings – James Bree, who signed from Barnsley, and Neil Taylor – both missed the game with injuries, and hopes to see them both back to full fitness for Monday’s trip to face Newcastle United.
“We are hoping by the end of the week that the two of them will be better. James has got an infected knee unfortunately and Tayls has got a cut ankle, one of them nasty ones. We will see how they are by the end of the week and maybe they’ll be OK for Monday.”
What did you think of Villa’s display against Barnsley?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
