Aston Villa face Luton Town on Saturday evening, with Unai Emery’s side looking to strengthen their top-four position.
The Villans head into the fixture off the back of two Premier League wins over Fulham and Nottingham Forest.
Emery has also been boosted by the return to training of Ezri Konsa, who had missed Villa’s last four matches with a sprained knee.
Ahead of the Kenilworth Road clash, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has had his say on how he thinks things will unfold.
Paul Merson backs Aston Villa against Luton Town
In his weekly column for Sportskeeda, Merson believes Villa will have too much for this hosts.
“I’ll go for an Aston Villa win here as they are a solid, well-coached side at the moment,” he said.
“Luton will cause teams problems at home and have beey good at Kenilworth Road this season, but their confidence will be shot after conceding six against Manchester City and Elijah Adebayo’s absence will be a huge factor as well.”
On the race for the top four, Merson added: “I think Manchester United are a million miles off the race for a top-four spot at the moment, so it’s between Tottenham and Villa.
“At the moment, I think I’ll go for Villa to secure UEFA Champions League football next season, as Spurs are too open at the back for my liking. Luton Town 1-2 Aston Villa.”
Aston Villa can heap pressure on rivals
Last week’s results saw the gap to Tottenham extended to five points.
If Villa can continue their excellent form, the pressure will only increase on the likes of Spurs and Manchester United.
However, Emery does have to balance Villa’s commitments moving forward. The Conference League is set to centre stage on 7 March, with the compelling Ajax tie honing into view.
A genuine chance for European silverware cannot be passed up, so it will be interesting to see how the Villa boss juggles his side’s Champions League and Conference League ambitions.
Looking ahead to the Luton clash, the Villa boss could throw Konsa straight back into the starting XI after Pau Torres was forced off during the win over Forest.
