Aston Villa schedule news as Unai Emery’s team looks to build on their successful start to the season while battling through Europe
Now that Aston Villa is dominating the Premier League, a Champions League spot appears to be up for grabs.
As his team attempts to advance to the Europa Conference League knockout rounds, Unai Emery will be keeping a close watch on his trophy collection. He has previously claimed four Europa League crowns.
Villa’s impressive home record continued with a 3-1 triumph over Luton Town, their fifth straight win of the campaign. As it happens, the four teams in front of them have also had excellent starts to the season.
BirminghamLive examines the next six Premier League games involving Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Newcastle United.
Nottingham Forest (A) – November 5, Sunday
With their expensively built team trying to get off the ground, Forest are in a bit of a rut. There are similarities to Villa under Dean Smith, when significant sums of money were invested yet growth was sluggish.
Although they have never lost at home, their lone league triumph at the City Ground came against a faltering Sheffield United team in the second week of the campaign. Even so, Chris Wood’s late header gave them a narrow 2-1 victory.
Nov. 12, Sunday – Fulham (H)
Emery should have an excellent opportunity to continue his winning streak at home against Fulham. Under Marco Silva, the Whites like to play wide, but without former striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, they haven’t had much punch.
They have seven points from their travels, which includes a heroic 2-2 tie with Arsenal, but Villa is the overwhelming favourite in this one. Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby’s energy and pace ought to be superior.
Tottenham Hotspur (A) – November 26, Sunday
This battle appears to be fantastic. Spurs have entered the race as an outsider for the title itself, while Villa are favourites to place in the top four.
Tottenham’s ability to maintain the fitness of their star players throughout the season will determine how successful they are, given there is a clear lack of depth in their team. But Villa will face a difficult test.
Sunday, December 3, Bournemouth (H)
With Emery’s stellar record at Villa Park, another fixture that shouldn’t stop him is a home matchup against one of the relegation scrappers.
With the Cherries, Andoni Iraola has had difficulty scoring, but his performances haven’t always been all that horrible. They performed admirably at Anfield and forced Chelsea to play on home ground.
Wednesday, December 6th, Manchester City (H)
This is where Villa Park’s winning streak could be truly tested. Under the leadership of the trophy warlord Pep Guardiola, City is unrelenting in its domestic pursuits and shows no signs of relenting.
However, City won’t be salivating over the idea of travelling to the Midlands. Between two upbeat teams, it should be an intriguing matchup.
Arsenal (H) – December 9, Saturday
Back-to-back games against two of England’s top clubs will feel a little different after a reasonably pleasant run of games. This ought to be another difficult one for Emery because Arsenal appears to be the team best positioned to contend for City’s title.
However, the Spaniard will be looking to defeat his old team, the Gunners, as he used to manage them. While Emery performed admirably at the Emirates, he was fired in favour of Mikel Arteta as the team’s performance began to wane.
Man City next six fixtures
Bournemouth (H) – Saturday, 4 November
Chelsea (A) – Sunday, 12 November
Liverpool (H) – Saturday, 25 November
Tottenham Hotspur – Sunday, 3 December
Aston Villa (H) – Wednesday, 6 December
Luton Town (A) – Sunday, 10 December
Liverpool next six fixtures
Luton (A) – Sunday, 5 November
Brentford (H) – Sunday, 12 November
Manchester City (A) – Saturday, 25 November
Fulham (H) – Sunday, 3 December
Sheffield United (A) – Wednesday, 6 December
Crystal Palace (A) – Saturday, 9 December
Newcastle United next six fixtures
Arsenal (H) – Saturday, 4 November
Bournemouth (A) – Saturday, 11 November
Chelsea (H) – Saturday, 25 November
Manchester United (H) – Saturday, 2 December
Everton (A) – Thursday, 7, December
Tottenham Hotspur (A) – Sunday, 10 December