Will 2026 be Aston Villa’s year?
Nine consecutive wins in all competitions, approaching the club record of 11 set in 1897, put Unai Emery’s side into the title race.
Villa have failed to win in their first five Premier League games and have gone the longest time without a goal in the Football League.
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They face Manchester United on Sunday before traveling to Chelsea and taking on leaders Arsenal – three games that will decide their role in the title race and they can be either kingmakers or kings.
Villa have not won any major trophies since lifting the League Cup in 1996, but sit third in both the Premier League and Europa League and their drought could end in spectacular fashion.
Emery will not give in to any external demands to declare Villa in the title race.
However, the statistics tell a story, with their only Premier League defeat since August coming against Liverpool in October and Villa having won six consecutive top-flight games since then.
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Last Sunday’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over West Ham United showed the quality of his team and the momentum they have now.
“We don’t feel pressure, we feel ambitious and we try to challenge in Europe and the Premier League,” Emery said after that win.
“Enjoy every game, prepare hard and then rest. The players have to feel comfortable.
“That’s the process we’re doing. Right now it’s [the match against] Manchester United.
“I love the reaction of players, how they accept the challenges we send them. Now that it’s all done, we’re off again.”
Emery has been careful not to draw too much attention to Villa players. After all, they garner enough attention with their stunning looks.
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This form is in stark contrast to the start of the season, when they were winless after six opening games, including a League Cup defeat to Brentford, and even failed to score in the league before a 1-1 draw with Sunderland on September 21.
The team held a meeting to assess their shocking start and discuss how to return to form. There is recognition of the after-effects of missing out on the Champions League.
Unai Emery to take charge of Aston Villa from November 2022 [Getty Images]
Villa finished sixth last season and missed the top five due to goal difference after losing to Manchester United on the final day.
Since the draw at the Stadium of Light, they have won 15 of 17 games, including a 1-0 win over Manchester City and a dramatic 2-1 victory over Arsenal this month.
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The seven Villa players who featured in the manager’s first game under Emery – a 3-1 win over Manchester United in November 2022 when Villa were 14th – remain key rather than revolutionary.
Emi Martinez, Marty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins started, with John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara coming off the bench. Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne are also involved.
This core group has helped Villa come close to returning to the Champions League, but Emery believes they can now achieve even more.
“Last year was an example, it was an experience for us. Sometimes we performed well and we achieved our goals, but maybe if we asked for more, maybe we could even get more,” he said.
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“This is my third year here and I’m really motivated, but [also] More demanding than when I first came here.
“So, there are a lot of things to improve on, a lot of things to work on for my goals [on]many things need to be set as goals [and to be] Ambitious. first one [objective] Just beat Manchester United. “
The last time Villa lifted a trophy – beating Leeds United 3-0 in the League Cup – Prodigy’s “Firestarter” knocked Take That’s cover of “How Deep Is Your Love” off the charts, while Wallace and Gromit’s “A Close Shave” had just won an Oscar.
David Beckham has yet to make his England debut, while Cash, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia are yet to be born.
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It’s been a long wait, with Villa losing two FA Cup finals and a League Cup final since then.
Emery, a former Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villarreal, said on his first day in charge that the main goal was to win a trophy. Last season’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual champions Crystal Palace is still heart-wrenching.
Defeat to Olympiacos in the Europa League semi-finals 18 months ago and a thrilling defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals in April showed they were getting closer to victory.
“The conference semi-finals and the Champions League quarter-finals are big nights for us, big moments that we haven’t delivered on yet,” captain John McGinn told reporters.
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“Now every time we go into a big game we are determined to prove that this team we have built over the last five or six years is more valuable than the quarter-finals, more valuable than the semi-finals.
“Determination, I can feel it this year. I can feel that we want to prove a point. I think there’s always going to be questions asked before we do that. As a captain, you feel maybe twice as much, but when that day finally comes, you feel it positively, twice as much.”
