Key Rams duo could return at Villa

Craig Bryson and Johnny Russell could feature in Derby County's visit to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Steve McClaren at Derby County.Steve McClaren at Derby County.
Steve McClaren at Derby County.

Bryson has missed the last two games and Russell sat out the draw with Burton on Tuesday, but both have returned to training in an attempt to be fit for the game at Villa Park.

Chris Baird also looks set to be available having also missed out on Tuesday, but Nick Blackman and Jason Shacklock could well miss out.

Boss Steve McClaren said of the fixture: “It’s a big game for both sides and we’re looking forward to it.

“We’re capable of going on a winning run again, but we must get back to doing what we’re good at.

“We’ve looked back at what we did well during that seven-game winning run not long ago. We want to get back to what we did then.

“We’ve had a bad ten days but we move on. This will be a fantastic game for us. Things aren’t going well at Villa but Steve Bruce is the right man for the job.”

Villa have lost seven of their last eight league games, not having won since beating Burton Albion 2-1 on Boxing Day.

They were beaten 2-0 at leaders Newcastle on Monday night.