Aston Villa’s Christmas charge: Can Unai Emery’s men crash the Arsenal-Man City party?
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Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (second from left) celebrating with (from left) Ezri Konsa, Amadou Onana and Victor Lindelof after scoring against Manchester United in Villa's 2-1 English Premier League win on Dec 21.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Aston Villa boast 10 successive wins, but Opta analysts give them a 5.3% chance of winning the title, compared to Arsenal's 68.7%.
- Arsenal leads but faces pressure, while Man City has rediscovered form, with Guardiola humorously warning players about overeating.
- Wolverhampton Wanderers hope for a win, having the worst start in English league history with only two points from 17 games.
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LONDON – Aston Villa are heading into the festive period like a runaway sleigh with 10 successive victories in all competitions and with the English Premier League’s top spot in their sights.
The club’s 2-1 win over Manchester United on Dec 21
They have bagged 33 points out of the last 36 available and have a manager who knows how to deliver silverware in Unai Emery.
Yet, according to the Premier League’s data analysts Opta, Villa have only a 5.3 per cent chance of winning the English title for the first time since 1981, with Arsenal on 68.7 per cent and City on 24.7 per cent.
“They’re just not as good as Arsenal and Man City. They’re doing excellent, but I just don’t feel they’re going to be in the title race,” former United forward and Sky Sports pundit Wayne Rooney said.
Rooney is not alone in that belief, but Villa’s relentless form makes them hard to ignore. If they extend their winning streak to 12 straight matches, the doubters will be running out of arguments.
Villa, who have 36 points from 17 matches despite not winning any of their first five, go to fourth-placed Chelsea on Dec 27 and stay in the English capital to take on Arsenal three days later.
“In the table now we have some advantage on them (Chelsea) but they are contender more than us to be in the top five, top four, top three,” Emery said.
“Now we are top three... But they are contenders and we are not.
“Of course, we are ambitious and we are not going to refuse how we can get the challenge against Chelsea. They are favourites but we are going to play with the form we have and hopefully we can perform the game, getting our objective.”
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, for one, is extra wary of Villa.
“It will be a very tough game for us and we will have to be at our best because Aston Villa are playing very well,” the Italian said.
“They have a clear way of playing and they are very organised both on and off the ball. They are full of confidence in this moment, but we are at home and we will be trying to get the three points as we always do. We will work hard and continue to grow.”
This run of fixtures against the two big London clubs will be a huge test of Villa’s credentials but they will not be daunted, according to Morgan Rogers, scorer of both goals in their victory over United.
“We’re all confident in each other, the manager’s confident in us and we go out there and we feel like we’re going to win every game,” the England international said.
Sceptics will note that Villa had two more points at this stage in the 2023-24 season before fading to fourth, and Arsenal and City boast far greater experience in title races.
For now, Emery’s men must first prove that they can beat Chelsea, who have a boost on the injury front.
Maresca expects both Liam Delap and Estevao Willian to be available for the match. Delap has recovered from a shoulder injury, while the return of Estevao, who has not played since coming on as a late substitute in the win over Everton on Dec 13, also bolsters the manager’s options.
Midfielder Cole Palmer is also finally ready to play a full match after months of injury struggles.
At the other end of the table, Wolverhampton Wanderers fans only want one present under their tree – a win.
They have not seen one in their first 17 league matches as Wolves sit on two points, which is the worst start in English league history.
Surpassing the all-time low points total of Derby County (11) in the 2007-08 season is certainly not a given, and away trips to Liverpool and United over the Christmas period hardly look like providing any comfort.
A home match against 18th-placed West Ham United in early January could offer a glimmer of hope.
Unusually, there is only one top-flight match on Boxing Day this season – Manchester United’s home clash against Newcastle United. But after that they come thick and fast in a head-spinning spell of matches that could shake up the Premier League table for the New Year. REUTERS
