Lansbury warns Villa of peril at the Pirelli

Burton Albion have made a habit of upsetting the odds over recent years and defeating a Villa side who are looking to record five consecutive league wins for the first time since March 1998 would hardly be classed as a shock considering their list of achievements.

Written off as relegation certainties at the start of the campaign, Nigel Clough’s men have begun to edge tantalisingly close to survival after a season where they have proved to be far from the pushovers many predicted.

Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Wolves are among the sides who have been vanquished at the Pirelli Stadium this term, while several others have experienced close shaves. Burton were also unlucky not to take at least a point from their Boxing Day trip to Villa Park and though Bruce’s team is much changed since then, the message is clear. “We can’t underestimate them,” said midfielder Henri Lansbury. “There are no easy games in the Championship, everyone beats everyone.”

The 26-year-old was one of several players not on Villa’s books when Ross McCormack’s 77th minute winner edged them past the Brewers 2-1 in the first meeting. A busy January which saw eight players arrive and eight depart saw Villa’s season veer off course before a revival which has delivered seven wins in eight games and kept alive the smallest of play-off hopes.

It is a success built on the twin pillars of Jonathan Kodjia’s goals and a defence which has stopped the opposition scoring in each of the victories.

“The whole team considers clean sheets as a big positive,” said Lansbury. “The gaffer has instilled that in us and we work hard together as a team to keep doing it.

“It’s taken a bit of time for everyone to settle in. But you can see it in training every day. The boys grind for each other, work for each other.

“We had to grind out a few results and sometimes they are the best to win. We don’t have to worry about being pretty playing in them. Three points is three points.”

Few would argue with Lansbury’s assessment that Villa, for all their recent improvement, have been far from an easy watch and the statistics would suggest tomorrow’s game may not be one for the neutral.

Villa have rarely found things easy on their travels and though they have won their last two away from Villa Park, both were against the Championship’s bottom two clubs in Rotherham and Wigan. They remain, meanwhile, the division’s lowest scorers away from home having netted just 12 in 20 games.

Burton’s success has also been built on the obdurate and they have scored only 22 goals in 19 home games. The key for Bruce over recent weeks has been his increasing options thanks to players returning from injury.

Villa’s bench for Tuesday’s 1-0 win over QPR was the strongest it has been for some time and at this stage of the season, greater strength in depth could well be a factor.