Sky Sports pundit Steve Sidwell has warned Aston Villa’s playoff rivals to be very wary as he definitively states they will finish in the top six this season.
The Villans have enjoyed a hugely impressive run on consecutive victories in recent weeks which has launched them up the Championship table to sit fifth, four points ahead of sixth placed Bristol City and five ahead of Middlesbrough in seventh.
Insisting there is no chance Villa would let their playoff spot slip through their fingers, Sidwell issued a stark warning to those who might have to face them in the hunt for promotion.
Asked if Villa were safe in the top six, he told Sky Sports’ The Debate (18/04, 22:00): “Yep, 100 per cent with Villa, especially the form they’re going in to at this stage of the season, you’ve got to be very wary of them.”
Opinion
Right now Villa look unbeatable and that is exactly the sort of form you want to be taking into the hunt for a top six finish. You just need to look at Fulham’s rise up the table in the second half of last season to see the impact that momentum can have on a promotion push, with the Cottagers eventually seeing off Villa to seal a place in the Premier League. This time around it is Dean Smith’s men who have been blowing the opposition away and you would not bet against them continuing their form all the way to Wembley. After last year’s heartbreak at the national stadium, could Smith and his men make amends just 12 months on? Right now things are looking good but the playoffs are a lottery and there are going to be four very good sides battling it out. Villa need to keep up their form to remain as feared as they currently are.