Latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as key dates for the summer and beyond are already piling up for Unai Emery & Co
Villa Park
Another big season ahead for Aston Villa (Image: Getty Images)
It was a bittersweet 2025/26 season for Aston Villa, from riding high in the Champions League with victories over the likes of Bayern Munich to missing out on qualification for next season's tournament.
Unai Emery and Co had looked for all the world like top-five finishers going into a final-day trip to Manchester United. It was there that incompetence and pure bad luck consigned Villa to a 2-0 defeat and a place in the Europa League.
The significance of that result and the potential £100m hit it means to club finances will also be seen this summer as the Villa hierarchy tackle compliance with tough player spending rules while also boosting Emery’s playing squad.
It promises to be a rollercoaster ride that most Villa fans could do without, but the club’s recruitment team pulled it out of the hat last term and will be confident they can do so again.
The first date of significance for Villa this close season will be the release of the Premier League fixtures for 2025/26 - arguably their road map back to Champions League participation - at 9am on Wednesday, June 18.
Villa have already confirmed that they will be returning to the United States for a significant part of their pre-season, taking on MLS team St Louis City at Energizer Park on Wednesday, July 30, and then Nashville SC at Geodis Park on Saturday, August 2, with another fixture yet to be confirmed.
Before heading Stateside, Villa will be in Germany to play Hansa Rostock on Saturday, July 19. They will also take part in their annual pre-season opener at Walsall on Wednesday, July 16 (7.30pm), with other games still to be scheduled.
The new Premier League season will kick-off with a single game on the evening of Friday, August 15, while 380 matches later it will conclude on Sunday, May 24 when all clubs kick-off at 4pm. The season will comprise 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five in midweek.
Premier League 2025/26 teams: AFC Bournemouth, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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