Aston Villa have the mammoth task of trying to repeat last season’s success of finishing in the Champions League places.
There is no doubt that Unai Emery has the squad and the players to do so, it’s all about dealing with the pressure and balancing out their gruelling campaign.
Villa have made a 100% start in the Champions League and they are sitting fifth in the Premier League table – level on points with Chelsea.
Last season, the London club, without any European football, finished sixth and reached two cup finals, which they lost under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino.
But not long after the season finished, Pochettino was out of the door and Chelsea had to build again, on top of the negative noise surrounding the club because of how much money they have been spending.
All of that seems to be blocked out because Enzo Maresca has only lost one Premier League match so far – just like Aston Villa.
Chelsea were beaten by the champions Manchester City on the opening day, whilst Emery lost at home to Arsenal, with Ollie Watkins missing those two huge chances.
You can’t tell much yet, but Chelsea and Villa are certainly battling it out for a top-four place, with the likes of Brighton, Fulham, Newcastle, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest not far behind.
There was a discussion about who will finish in the Premier League’s top four this season, with Craig Burley, an ex-Chelsea player, not giving his former side much of a chance.
The former Scotland international thinks, over the course of the campaign, Villa are a ‘better outfit’ than Maresca’s side, as he told ESPN.
Aston Villa are better side than Chelsea in top four race
“You have to ask yourself are they (Chelsea) a better outfit over the course of the season than Aston Villa and I think, at the moment, the answer would be no,” said Burley.
“They (Chelsea) have been exciting. More exciting than they have been. They still have a lot of work to do defensively, but we know about that. They are definitely in a better position, but to me, they aren’t yet.
“Tottenham are a bit of an anomaly. They are a hit and a miss. If they get it together, then I think they are a better outfit than Chelsea.”
Aston Villa’s defence
Aston Villa’s drab draw against Manchester United on Sunday had one positive, it yielded the team’s first clean sheet of the new Premier League season.
If the club are serious about maintaining their status in Europe’s elite competition, then they need to improve at the back.
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The return of Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings will help a lot, as will some luck with injuries because, so far, Emery has had to deal with far too many players entering the treatment room.
