Aston Villa’s automatic promotion chances hang by a slim thread. A victory (or even a point) for Cardiff or Fulham in their next outings will pretty much seal the deal.

Someone smarter than me worked out all the permutations, but let it be said - Villa need to win today. Also, it’s not just about automatic promotion. Villa can affect the makeup of the play-off race in their next two games.

Hell, today is important for other reasons as well - it’s the last time we’ll see Gabby Agbonlahor at Villa Park. He won’t play, but he’s set to receive an award for service pitch-side. Love him, or hate him - it’s over, so let the bitterness flow out of you. Time to move forward.

Villa will be facing a Gary Rowett side that came out swinging to bludgeon Neil Warnock’s Cardiff in a heated game. It’s a sell-out at Villa Park, for the final home game of the league season, so expect it to be explosive.

They won’t be as rudderless as Ipswich Town, but Derby have spent a lot of 2018 rolling over for other teams. Let’s see more of that today, but remember - while Villa’s play-off spot is guaranteed, this Derby team are still fighting.

A big thanks to Bennett Berry for creating all of our match-day images throughout the season. Give him a follow.

Also, please note that as of the 12th of April, Aston Villa matches will no longer be available on mainstream US television. ESPN have launched ESPN +, a subscription service where they will be sticking Championship games. Read more about how that works here.

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TV and Streaming

Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images

Location: Villa Park, Birmingham, England

Kick-off time: 15.00 pm UK, 10.00 am Eastern, 07.00 am Pacific

Weather: It’s a bit cold and a bit wet in Birmingham.

Open Match Thread: Join in the comments over on our open match thread.

Available TV: No traditional TV in the UK or US. BeIn Sports 2 has the game in Australia and once again, everywhere else in the world seems to be televising the match.

Available video streaming: ESPN+ in the US, BeIn Sports Connect in Australia, no AVTV as far as we are aware - as of writing.

Other listings are available from livesoccertv.com.

Available radio: Talksport 2, BBC WM 95.6 FM (not online), AVTV (If audio doesn’t work, try using Safari).

Twitter: You can find our live updates @7500toHolte, and we’d also recommend @VillaReport for updates as well.

Holtecast: James and Dani covered the Ipswich game, and previewed the Derby clash.

Since it is technically a televised tie in the UK - this match will NOT FEATURE on AVTV, for an international audience. For future reference on AVTV, here’s all you need to know compiled by Phil Vogel.

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Reading material

The Villa Week: Talking about a lot of Villa crap.

Alex Carson: Talking about Villa’s potential play-off victims.

KIT NEWS: Proper claret, traditional tribute, shaping up nicely!

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Injuries

Aston Villa will be without Birkir Bjarnason while Jed Steer and Axel Tuanzebe seem to be doubts for the rest of the season.

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Aston Villa squad

Derby squad

Live twitter stream