After a great start to the season, Aston Villa come into a much more difficult run of fixtures with top-six contenders coming up.
It has been a great start to the season for Aston Villa, which can not be disputed. They currently sit three points off of top spot in the Premier League.
Under the stewardship of Unai Emery the Villans have gone from strength to strength. They now go into each game with an expectation that they could and possibly should win.
Villa have won eight in 12 games while only drawing one and losing three. In that time they have scored the second most goals in the league, second to Manchester City.
They currently sit in fifth place with hard hitters City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in front of them.
Who have Aston Villa played?
So far this season, it must be said that the Villans haven’t played many top teams. Losing to Newcastle United and Liverpool stung and have hampered the chance of sitting in the top four right now.
The other loss came in disappointing circumstances as Nottingham Forest secured a 2-0 win at home. Villa were poor and no one performed well on that afternoon.
In contrast to this Emery’s side has secured impressive wins over Chelsea, Brighton and West Ham United. With ten goals scored against the latter two, goals have been free-flowing in B6, this season.
Every other game that Villa have won, they probably would have been hopeful of doing so. Wins over Luton Town, Burnley and Fulham summing that up.
What fixtures are coming up?
Looking as far forward as the 10th of December, Villa will have made away trips to Tottenham and Bournemouth. They will have also welcomed Manchester City and Arsenal to Villa Park, looking to maintain their form.
Tottenham have suffered many injuries and suspensions. James Maddison, Micky Van de Ven and Christian Romero are all out and won’t play. This could make it easier for Emery but up against Postecoglu, they are an unknown quantity right now.
After that comes an away trip to Bournemouth. The Villans haven’t won at the Vitality for eight years having lost the last two games. The last time Villa won there was Tim Sherwood’s side beating a newly promoted side, thanks to Rudy Gestede. Nowadays, Villa have surely got to get three points against a struggling Cherries side.
This is followed by back-to-back home games against City and the Gunners with the games three days apart. Against Pep Guardiola’s side, the Villans haven’t won since 2013 with Andi Weimann scoring the winner. In the past 24 matches between the two, the Sky Blues have won 19. With Villa’s home form, this is the best chance they’ve had in years to win.
Days later Villa host Mikel Arteta’s men in another game that has typically been a struggle in B6. Other than Covid years, Arsenal hadn’t lost at Villa Park since 1998 so in front of fans, a Villa win is a long time coming. It can be said that the Villans and the Gunners have been on a relatively level playing field this season.
Following these four fixtures, it will give a better idea of where the Villans and Emery are likely to finish this coming May.
