Former manager Paul Lambert has exclusively predicted to Sports Mole that Aston Villa will "start to motor again" after their impressive transformation in recent weeks.
Owing to the club's difficult summer in the transfer market, Unai Emery suggested at the start of the season that his Villa squad were not capable of finishing in the top seven of the Premier League table.
That theory was backed up when the West Midlands outfit failed to win any of their opening six games in all competitions, scoring just twice and notably suffering a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace prior to the September international break.
Since September 25, though, Villa have produced a five-match winning streak, overcoming Bologna, Fulham, Feyenoord, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur in England's top flight and the Europa League.
While Villa remain down in 11th position in the Premier League standings, they now sit just four points adrift of second-placed Manchester City.
Unai Emery manager of Aston Villa on September 21, 2025
Lambert predicts Villa Champions League push after revival
Between June 2012 and February 2015, Lambert was in charge of 115 matches as Villa boss, winning just 34 times and losing as many as 55 matches.
Villa never finished higher than 15th under the Scot, who acknowledged that he 'knows how difficult it is at Villa when things aren't going well'.
However, that has only led to a greater appreciation of the job that Emery is doing, particularly after two summer transfer windows in succession where Villa have needed to ensure that they comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability regulations.
The 56-year-old said: "Aston Villa needed someone like him and needed new ownership as well. The size of the club and fan base was too big not to invest.
"So with the new owner coming in, they needed someone like Unai Emery to galvanise that place because I know how difficult it is when things aren’t going well, especially when you don’t have money to spend or invest.
"A slow start can happen, but I think they’ll start to motor again. They had a great result against a really good Spurs side and they’re doing fine in Europe. I don’t think there’s too much wrong at Aston Villa, they’ve just started slow, but I think you’ll see them kicking on now.
"You would still expect Aston Villa to be up in the fifth, sixth or seventh place with the type of players they’ve got."
Aston Villa's Emiliano Buendia celebrates scoring against Feyenoord on October 2, 2025
What next for Aston Villa?
Next up for Villa is their third Europa League fixture of the season at Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles. Emery's side are currently one of seven teams that have emerged victorious from their opening two League Phase games.
Three days later, Manchester City are the visitors to Villa Park in the Premier League, Villa having the chance to move to within one point of Pep Guardiola's team.
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