Steve Bruce will reach a personal milestone when Aston Villa host Sheffield Wednesday at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, as the veteran manager will take charge of the Villans for the 100th time, but while many were expecting the former Manchester United defender to not reach the century he has been buoyed by the arrival of some Premier League talent.
A five-game winless run ended in midweek as Villa cruised past Rotherham United 2-0 on Tuesday evening and it was the goalscorers in the west Midlands that night that gave Bruce's side a bit of much-needed flair as Tammy Abraham and Yannick Bolasie netted for Villa, who have now moved into seventh place in the Championship.
Bruce was forced to tinker with his squad in the opening six weeks of the season, but his signings of Abraham (on loan from Chelsea) and Bolasie (on loan from Everton) has boosted his attacking resources immeasurably, and that pair, who are set to start on Saturday afternoon will be hoping that they can deliver three points for Bruce on Saturday and his 100th game in charge will be a victorious one.
Abraham showed when smashing in a hatful of goals for Bristol City in the Championship that he can deliver at this level, while Bolasie may have not cut the mustard at Everton, but is a tough winger to handle when on form, so if that goal in midweek can work as confidence-boosters then that pair could become focal points of a side that is currently based around midfield star Jack Grealish.
While Bruce's ultimate goal is to earn promotion back to the Premier League this season his record at Aston Villa isn't too bad having won 46 off his 99 games to date, while 23 draws and 30 defeats means that he is producing solid results at the helm at Villa Park.
However, the smidgen of quality that Abraham and Bolasie can bring to the squad could see the Villans make a challenge for outright promotion in a division that certainly lacks that dominant team this season.
