BY EOIN MANNING
Following Thursday night's heroics against Ajax, it's back to basis for Aston Villa as they travel to Wigan's JJB stadium for Sunday's Premier League fixture with Steve Bruce's outfit.
Doubts remain over the fitness of target man John Carew who missed the UEFA Cup encounter against the Dutch side and his strike partner Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was stretchered off in stoppage time following a clash with the Ajax goal keeper.
In recent years Villa have had real ups and downs with teams managed by Bruce.
Needless to say the blue half of Birmingham caused the Claret and Blue no end of heartache upon their return to the Premiership under the stewardship of Bruce.
And, again last year, a Wigan side managed by the former Manchester United captain beat Villa 2-0 at Villa Park to put a major dent in Villa's UEFA Cup hopes.
It must also be noted, though, that Martin O'Neill did manage two 2-1 away day victories over Bruce last season, firstly at St.Andrew's when Bruce was still in charge at Birmingham City and then again at the JJB following his switch to Sunday's opponents.
Agbonlahor scored the winner in both of those games and how everyone concerned with Villa would love if he could repeat the feat this year as the Villains look to close the gap on the top four.
Wigan, to their credit, will provide an even tougher test this year than last. Bruce pulled off the coup of the summer landing Amr Zaki on a loan deal and the big forward has repaid the Geordie's faith with seven goals in eight Premiership games.
Emile Heskey is like a man reborn, while Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios provide the creative spark from midfield and will need to be watched very closely if Villa are to prosper.
That said, O'Neill will have eyes on big things this season and will be very disappointed if Villa come away with anything less than a draw.
When taking into account Bruce's history with Villa, the fact that both sides like to play attacking, expansive football and that both are in fairly good form it makes for an absorbing contest.
Having scored his only goal for Villa at the JJB last season, ice cool defender Curtis Davies will also be looking for his starting place back having been replaced by Carlos Cuellar on Thursday night. It will be very interesting to see how O'Neill handles that particular issue.
Should Carew and Agbonlahor make the starting 11, Villa should go into this game looking for all three points.
But without those two it could prove a lot more difficult and with Blackburn at home to follow on Wednesday evening there is no let up for the Villa players or supporters!