Aston Villa are sitting top of the Champions League table and it has got many people talking.
Unai Emery has been lauded for the work he has done, but there were some perhaps expecting a wobble because of the difficulty of having to juggle so many high-pressure competitions.
On Tuesday night, Aston Villa beat Bologna 2-0 to make it three wins from three matches and that’s without conceding a goal, so that wobble isn’t happening yet.
After the third match week, it’s not the current holders Real Madrid, past Treble winners Manchester City or Serie A champions Inter sitting at the top of the Champions League table, but the mighty Aston Villa.
From a qualifying perspective, this is an ample chance to, not just progress, but do so by finishing in the top eight of this revamped Champions League format.
Nonetheless, on the latest edition of Stick to Football, Villa doing well in Europe was discussed and Roy Keane dropped an interesting question that got Gary Neville and Ian Wright debating.
The former Manchester United captain asked ‘Can Aston Villa win the Champions League?’
Gary Neville and Ian Wright disagree about Aston Villa winning the Champions League
Villa haven’t been in Europe’s elite competition since 1983, so for the team to rock up and win it all just like that would be remarkable.
Even the most ardent of Villa fans wouldn’t predict it, but Ian Wright was fighting Emery’s corner by stating ‘I will say Villa can win it’.
But Neville, who admitted ‘I would Villa them to win’ made it clear that it simply isn’t happening.
“Can they win the Champions League, Villa,” asked Keane. Wright added: “It’s a big ask for anyone.” Then Neville interrupted: “No, not for me. I hope they do. I would love them to. I would them to win it. I would love Villa to win.”
Wright added: “You know what, I could never understand with somebody in football saying ‘no, Villa, they could never win it’, with Neville replaying and saying: “I could be wrong.”
Neville then asks: “Do you think they will win it?” Wright responds: “They are in it and they have got a chance. I can’t say they can definitely win it, but I think they have got a good chance of winning it. They are like anyone else. You say ‘I don’t think they will win it’. I will say Villa can win it.”
Villa’s remaining Champions League fixtures
First of all, Villa have to do the basics and that’s progress to the round of 16 stage, without having to make life difficult for themselves.
Finishing in the top eight, or even the top three means a far easier draw than having to be slapped with a Real Madrid straightway.
Villa have five matches remaining and, of course, fans will be hoping it’s a lot more, with Club Brugge up next, then Juventus, before away ties at RB Leipzig and Monaco.
And then Villa will round all of that off by playing Celtic in the battle of Britain.
