Steve Bruce has had a bit of an inconsistent time of things during his spell with Aston Villa so far, and a playoff run looks a tad too far for them this season.

However, a win against Norwich today would give them a timely boost and may well give Villa fans a glimmer of hope that a late run could pay dividends.

Our landlord has been mixing it with the Villa fans this week over by the dartboard, with plenty of noise and banter coming from the far corner of the Tavern.

A lot of the talk has been about today’s game, and which players could find their place in the XI under threat.

With this in mind, here are TWO Aston Villa players who could be axed for today’s game with Norwich…

Gary Gardner

Midfielder Gardner could be one who is shifted on to the bench this week with Henri Lansbury waiting in the wings to seize his chance in the starting XI.

Gardner has been in good form, but a player like Lansbury can sometimes be too good to leave out, and Bruce could well opt to shuffle his pack.

Albert Adomah

The winger is another one of Bruce’s trusted men, but with Scott Hogan now back and pushing for a place in the line-up, Adomah could be moved out this week.

Jonathan Kodjia is the main striker for Villa this season, but should Bruce opt to go for two up front, then the prospect of Hogan and Kodjia is something which fans could be very excited about.