Struggling Wigan the latest test for resurgent Aston Villa

While Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday are battling at the top end of the Championship, Wigan find themselves in dire trouble at the other end and this week too decisive action in a bid to beat the drop by axing boss Warren Joyce after just four months at the helm.

Assistant boss Graham Barrow has stepped up to assume control of a team which sits five points adrift of safety.

With Villa having won four of their last five and Wigan having failed to win at the DW Stadium since mid-January, the form guide points to an away victory. But regular observers of Bruce’s team know little comes easy for them on the road, not least goals.

Villa are comfortably the division’s lowest scorers away from home, having found the net on only ten occasions all season and failed to score in 11 of 19 games.

Nowhere else were their struggles in front of goal better highlighted than in the 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield, the one blip in the recent run, where Bruce’s men failed to capitalise on a host of chances to go in front before being beaten by the hosts only shot on target.

It is that reason a victory tomorrow, while almost certainly heralded far less than one at Huddersfield would have been, would still represent another significant step in the right direction for a Villa team which has finally begun to find its feet.

“It takes time but it looks like things are now clicking,” admits midfielder Gary Gardner. “There are a lot of players who have come in this season and even though I have been at the club for a long time, this is the first time I have had this run of games for Villa. It takes time.”

The manager’s attempts to integrate new players have not been helped by an injury crisis which has seen a host of players sidelined yet his team have stood up to setbacks pretty well.

“It’s a squad game and we have a good squad,” added Gardner. “We have had quite a lot of injuries but it is not just the 11 on the pitch. We are all looking to push on, see what the rest of the season brings.

“The last five games we have four wins and didn’t deserve to lose at Huddersfield. The performances are there now and hopefully we can kick on.”

Injuries will again likely dictate Bruce’s team selection. Mile Jedinak could again deputise at centre-half should Nathan Baker miss out with a knee injury, though the manager also has the option of bringing in recognised defenders in the shape of Tommy Elphick and Micah Richards.

Villa have a strong record at Wigan, having lost only once in ten previous visits. The hosts, meanwhile, may find a positive omen in the fact their last two victories have come against West Midlands clubs, after wins at Molineux and St Andrews.