View: Aston Villa must target favourable run of fixtures and push into top half of Premier League table
Unai Emery has undertaken a strong start to life as Aston Villa manager after facing tough tests against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in his opening five Premier League fixtures.
Despite the difficulty of his opening five games, the Spaniard has returned ten points and seen his side climb from the edge of the relegation zone to the cusp of the top half of the table.
After crashing out of the FA Cup against Stevenage, Emery turns his attention to a favourable run of Premier League games: Leeds United under the lights at Villa Park (Friday 13 January), Southampton away (Saturday 21 January), and Leicester City at home (Saturday 4 February).
If Villa have any hopes of mounting a charge on the top ten and possibly squeaking into a Europa League spot, these three games will be pivotal. Emery’s side currently sit just six points off Liverpool in sixth place due to the crazy nature of the Premier League, so a charge up the table is by no means out of the question.
The Spanish manager will look at teams above him in the table, such as Fulham, Brentford and Brighton and be thinking his side possesses the quality to leapfrog them in the closing stages of the season.
Speaking exclusively with Villa News, The Athletic’s Dan Bardell highlighted the importance of these three upcoming fixtures and debated how many points Emery should aim to pick up.
He said: “I think you look at those three games, you want to be taking between seven and nine points, and nothing else will do really.
“The players have had more time working under Emery as well and are now used to his tactical style of play.
There are no easy games in the Premier League, and on their day, any team can spring a surprise and get a result. However, I look at those games, especially with two being at home and one under the lights at Villa Park, where you get a great atmosphere in those games, and I see it as a real opportunity.
“Seven points is the minimum you want to be taking from those games, and that would get Villa pushing well up the table and knocking on the door of the top half.“
With Alex Moreno now through the doors and Emery rumoured to be in the market for a couple of attacking options, this Villa team is only going to move from strength to strength in the coming weeks.
The left-back completed his move from Real Betis for a fee of £13.2million on Wednesday (11 January) and could feature against Leeds if Emery deems him fit to play. [BBC Sport]
Whether Moreno or any other signings in the pipeline will be able to impact this crucial run of fixtures is debatable, but Emery must look to get every ounce of his team to help them ascend the table.
In other Aston Villa news, Dan Bardell believes this one women’s player can be the heart of the Villa midfield for years to come after flourishing in her breakout season.