Gabby Agbonlahor’s claim after Aston Villa’s EFL Cup loss to Crystal Palace might divide fans

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Aston Villa suffered an early EFL Cup exit on Wednesday night when they were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace on home soil.

It wasn’t so long ago that Palace couldn’t buy a win, but now they have won back-to-back matches – beating Tottenham over the weekend and now clinching a quarter-final EFL ticket at Villa Park.

Unai Emery named a much-changed Villa team and it probably signalled what he thinks of the team’s priority in this competition.

John McGinn was the only one to keep his place from Villa’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, with previously injured players or benched players coming into the XI.

The Midlands side are sitting fourth in the Premier League table and are also competing in Europe’s elite competition.

Yes, Villa just being in the Champions League is seen as a big thing, but it has taken a lot of limelight and pushed certain competitions further down the pecking order.

Fans might not like to hear that, just like they might disagree with Gabby Agbonlahor’s comments on Twitter.

Aston Villa told to concentrate on the Champions League and the Premier League

Villa are sitting top of the Champions League table, which is an incredible achievement, but only three games have been played.

The same could be said for the Premier League, only nine matches have been played, so it’s a big risk to push a competition, you can realistically win, down the pecking order.

That’s what some Aston Villa fans will be saying, but Agbonlahor clearly has other ideas because he feels it’s time to concentrate on the Premier League and the Champions League.

“Let’s concentrate on the Champions League and Premier League,” wrote the former striker.

Aston Villa’s next set of fixtures

At the end of the day, it’s all about your next result, especially when you make so many changes to your team and get knocked out of a cup competition.

Tottenham beat Manchester City to progress in the League Cup, so their tails will be up for the weekend visit of Villa.

If Emery can get three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, then the Palace loss will be quickly forgotten about.

Villa’s next five games in the Premier League make for difficult reading, including trips to Tottenham, Anfield and Chelsea, as well as free-scoring Brentford visiting Villa Park and another showdown against Palace, but this time at Selhurst Park.

In between all of that, Villa face Club Brugge and Juventus in the Champions League.