Paul Merson believes that Aston Villa will reach the play-off spots this season and has praised their manager Steve Bruce.
The Midlands giants are in pursuit of promotion this season and are desperate to get back in the Premier League.
They are occupying the final play-off spot in the Championship table after the opening 16 league games and have recovered from a mediocre start.
Villa did suffer a home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in their last match before the international break and will be looking to bounce back away to QPR on Saturday.
Sky Sports pundit and ex-Villa ace Merson is confident that his former side will be involved in the play-off format at the end of the season.
He feels that their manager Bruce, 56, will be a key reason behind their success and that his know-how will prove vital.
“For me they need to get into the play-offs at least and I think they will,” Merson told the Express and Star.
“Steve is the man to get them up, there is no doubt about that. He has been in the Championship enough times.”
OPINION
Bruce is somewhat of a promotion expert in the Championship and has gone up to the top flight on four separate occasions as a manager. He is beginning to get results on the pitch after settling at the Midlands club and they look a good shout to be involved in the promotion mix all season. However, as always there is always fierce competition and they need to try and find some consistency in their game. They have begun to look defensively resolute, but there is still a concern over their quality in attack and bringing in a prolific goalscorer in the January window could be a smart move to get the club over the line.