Aston Villa enjoyed an incredible campaign in the 2023/24 season, finishing fourth in the Premier League and enjoying a run to the Europa Conference League semi-final.
That league finish will see Unai Emery guide Aston Villa into the Champions League in the forthcoming season, much to the delight of the fanbase.
Villa upset the traditional ‘Big Six’ by sneaking into the top four, finishing above the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea to earn a seat at European football’s top table.
Given the club were in realistic danger of relegation when Emery took over as manager in late 2022, this is a quite remarkable turnaround.
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Now, former Villa midfielder Paul Merson has been looking ahead to the 2024/25 season and has delivered his verdict on where the club could finish in the Premier League.
Paul Merson predicts Aston Villa will finish in Premier League top six
Merson made 144 appearances for Villa between 1998 and 2002, scoring 19 goals and providing 14 assists.
In that time, Villa’s best league positions were consecutive sixth-place finished in 1998/99 and 1999/2000.
That is exactly where the pundit predicts Villa will finish this season as a minimum, as he has suggested Villa will finish in the top six but may just miss out on another top four finish.
Merson was speaking on the Football’s Greatest Youtube channel when he was asked how he thinks Villa will get on and the 56-year-old responded: “I think Villa will find it hard with the Champions League. I think, you know, we saw that with Newcastle.
“We take it for granted when teams like Man City and Liverpool keep on producing year in year out in it.”
He went on to mention the imminent arrival of Amadou Onana before delivering his league prediction and praising Emery, saying: “Onana to Villa – good signing, good signing. Big pitch, like, loads of energy.
“They won’t be far off because of the manager. The manager’s phenomenal, phenomenal manager, phenomenal manager. I think Villa will be top six.”
Can Aston Villa balance successfully balance Premier League and Champions League?
Merson makes a valid point; it is very difficult to maintain success when competing in multiple competitions.
This is especially true of clubs that have little experience of doing so, with the squad not used to the relentless nature associated with the very elite level.
Villa experienced Europa Conference League football late into last season which will help, but in some of the early fixtures in that competition they were able to rotate their side.
That is a luxury Emery will not be afforded in the Champions League given the quality of opposition and this could take its toll on the Villa squad.
Towards the end of the last campaign Emery had a number of injuries to contend with and his players were showing signs of fatigue.
Signings have been made to try and combat this issue and improve the squad ahead of the challenges of the new season, though, and Villa fans will believe that if anyone can handle the situation Emery can.
