For the first time in 14 years, Aston Villa find themselves inside the top four after a weekend has finished and the love for football has reached an all time high at Villa Park. Just over a year ago, Steven Gerrard had the Villains lying just one point above the relegation zone in 17th place with it looking like another bleak campaign for a club who hoped to be challenging the big six after staying up in the seasons prior. However, Villa were able to pull off a major coup, getting Unai Emery to swap Villarreal for Birmingham. The Spaniard had won a Europa League and taken the Yellow Submarine to a Champions League semi-final which is very impressive considering the club resides in a town with a population of just over 50,000 people.
The Aston Villa board have given the former Arsenal manager some decent spending power too, with Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby notable signings coming in for a combined fee of just over £80m, outlining Villa’s intentions for the season ahead. Emery’s side have also amassed an incredible 22 Premier league wins in 2023 – this is only bettered by Man City and Arsenal on goal difference, two sides who have been at the top end of the table for a while.
It is safe to say that this season could be the Villains best chance of getting into the Champions League with all of the sides below them experiencing significant injuries or bad form, but with Villa only two points off of Arsenal in 1st, could they pull of a ‘Leicester’ and go all the way?