Credit: Tung Manh Phan/Breaking Media

James Barker

Wed 27 May 2026 7:40, UK

Aston Villa were one of the worst crossing teams in the Premier League last season, as Unai Emery‘s side do have some clear areas for improvement.

2025-26 was a campaign that no Aston Villa fan will ever forget.

Whilst Emery’s side weren’t able to stick around in the Premier League title race, the Spaniard was able to guide them to a second fourth-placed finish in the last three years.

If they hadn’t secured Champions League football through their top flight finish, then the Villans would’ve done so regardless due to them being crowned Europa League champions on a historic night in Istanbul.

But, if Aston Villa are to improve further in 2026-27, then there are some underlying areas that will require Emery to get more out of his players in moving forward.

Where were Aston Villa weakest in the 2025-26 season?

Aston Villa have been tipped for even more success under Emery following their exploits this past season, with the potential in the group clear for all to see with their final day takedown of Manchester City.

To be able to win a European trophy and record a top four finish in the Premier League, you can’t have too many glaring nor fatal weaknesses in your team.

That is the case with Villa, but Emery isn’t the type of coach to rest on his laurels in this regard, as he strives to make his team the best they can possibly be in every department.

So, what are the areas that his 2025-26 side fell short in the most in the Premier League, and can the reason for the team’s poor performance in them be easily explained?

As per FotMob, Villa ranked 13th for expected goals (xG) with 48.2, which was lower than the likes of Leeds (54.2), Newcastle (57.1) and Crystal Palace (58.2) respectively.

This is a double-edged sword, as whilst it clearly shows that Villa perhaps didn’t create as many quality goalscoring opportunities as they would’ve liked, it suggests they were largely clinical, and they did score their fair share of worldies last term as well.

Villa fashioned 87 big chances in the league last term, which was only good enough to place them 12th among their top-flight rivals, but this again probably comes largely down to having players willing and capable of shooting from distance.

Meanwhile, Emery’s side did only deliver 3.6 accurate crosses per game which ranked as the fourth-lowest in the division, so whilst not being a massive crossing team, this is a clear aspect of their attacking play that needs to be addressed moving forward.

Villa ranked bottom of the Premier League for interceptions per game with 6.3, perhaps suggesting that Emery has some work to do on his team’s pressing patterns, reinforced by the fact they placed 13th for possessions won in the final third per 90 at 3.4.

Their 15.4 tackles won per game ranked 15th, and whilst this can partially be explained due to Villa often being smart in possession and controlling games, it does point towards Emery needing a bit more steel perhaps.

Could Aston Villa win the Premier League next season?

Some may think posing the question of Aston Villa being able to win the Premier League is to be getting ahead of oneself, but it’s not an outlandish or unreasonable thought to ponder.

Indeed, the Villans were firmly in the title race for large parts of the 2025-26 season, but only started to fall away when injuries and their lack of squad depth started to betray them.

Therefore, if they can avoid that same bad injury luck and bolster their ranks sufficiently this summer with quality signings, then many inside Villa Park will wonder why they can’t be there or thereabouts next season.

Man City will be Pep Guardiola-less, Arne Slot is under huge pressure at Liverpool, going back-to-back as champions is never easy and that won’t be any different for Arsenal.

Chelsea have much to sort out and Man United are still in the honeymoon phase with Michael Carrick, respectively; Aston Villa are settled, have an elite coach and a starting XI that can compete with anyone.

So, why not?