Robbie Savage forced to make Aston Villa admission as 2+ Unai Emery stat emerges
There is not a lot of love lost between Aston Villa supporters and Robbie Savage.
The BBC Sport pundit spent three years with the Villans’ fierce rivals Birmingham City and to say he is unpopular at Villa Park would be an understatement.
But even the big-talking former Wales midfielder has found it impossible to ignore Villa’s rapid rise to genuine title contenders in the Premier League this season, as leaders Arsenal get set to visit Villa Park on Saturday (9 December).
Writing in the Daily Mirror (page 63, 9 December), Savage opined: “I didn’t have Aston Villa down for a top-four finish and I still think it’s a tall order. But the longer Villa’s record winning streak at home goes on the more we will have to take them seriously.
“And if they beat leaders Arsenal today, they will have to be considered as top-four material. Unai Emery has done an incredible job with that group of players while Villa’s recruitment has also been excellent.
“Villa Park is rocking more than it has done in years. And as a former Birmingham player who never lost at Villa Park, I have to admit it’s great to see Emery galvanising one of English football’s sleeping giants.”
Stats from the Analyst (8 December) show that Savage really had no choice other than to accept Villa’s status, no one can ignore them based on the numbers.
The 32 points accumulated by Villa is their highest ever at this stage of a Premier League campaign, and matches the number managed by Leicester City when they shocked the world to win the title in the 2015-16 campaign.
This season has seen Villa win 10 of their 15 matches, the most they have won at this stage of a top-flight season since the 1980-81 campaign. That also represented the last time the club won the top-tier title.
Moreover, Emery has racked up an average of 2.02 points per game from his 40 matches in charge of Villa, becoming one of only 10 managers to have overseen a minimum of 35 games and won at least two points per game. The other nine all went on to win the title with their clubs.
Even if the title remains out of reach, the omens for a place in the Champions League are also promising. There could be five spots up for grabs in England due to a change in format to Europe’s elite competition. No time over a 38-game Premier League season has ever finished outside of the top five having taken 32 points from 15 matches – like Villa have – while 42 of the 45 have finished inside the top four.
As Savage alluded to, the key to Villa’s success has been their stunning home form. If they manage to beat Arsenal, it will represent a 15th straight home league victory – a club record that would surpass runs of 14 set in 1903 and 1931. Across all competitions, they have won 18 of 19 matches at Villa Park, the sole loss coming to Everton in the EFL Cup this season.
Since Emery took over, only three sides – Manchester City (90), Arsenal (89), and Liverpool (85) – have accrued more points than Villa’s 81.
The numbers certainly back up the claims that Villa are in the title hunt…and the fact it is even making someone like Savage sit up and take note makes it all the more sweeter.
In other Aston Villa news, here is our predicted XI for the huge Arsenal clash.