Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has predicted that Aston Villa will only manage a draw with Preston North End when they meet in a crucial Championship clash on Tuesday evening.
Villa saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end at the weekend against Fulham, with the Whites running out 2-0 winners thanks to Ryan Sessegnon and Floyd Ayite.
That loss meant the Villans have dropped from second to third in the table ahead of Tuesday’s clash, with opponents Preston lying in seventh.
Preston are coming in off the back of a 1-1 draw against leaders Wolves, with a red card for John Welsh seeing Preston forfeit a one goal advantage against the champions-in-waiting.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, Prutton predicted a 1-1 draw in Tuesday’s match, and said: “Aston Villa came crashing back down to earth at Fulham on Saturday as their winning run came to an end at Craven Cottage. It was always going to be a tough trip, however, and Steve Bruce will have them right back up for this one.
“Preston got a great result against Wolves at the weekend, especially after going down to 10 men. They’re still knocking on the door of the play-offs and I fancy them to nick a draw here.”
OPINION
A draw looks like a fitting prediction, although things may be worse for Villa. The deflation of a first defeat in seven will be resting heavy over the club, and they are set to be without four of their key players for the clash. Jack Grealish and Ahmed Elmohamady are doubts, while Albert Adomah and Andre Green have been ruled out with hamstring complaints. All four missed the Fulham match, and the lack of creativity in attack was obvious to see. However, they are back at home where they are most comfortable, and that may be enough to see them snatch a win instead.