Villa Park has been a fortress for Aston Villa in the Premier League and in Europe too in the last two-and-a-half years
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock)
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Aston Villa have now won seven home matches in a row after beating BSC Young Boys, with their record at B6 unmatched in European competition over the past couple of seasons.
Unai Emery’s side have won all six of their home European matches in 2025, and since the start of the 2023-24 campaign they have recorded more home victories in major European competitions than any other club: 13 in 15 games, failing to defeat only Olympiacos and Juventus.
That's more home wins in major European competitions in that time than the likes of Premier League leaders Arsenal, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Villa have won three home matches in the Europa League this season - against Bologna, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Young Boys - having also claimed three victories at Villa Park earlier in the year in the Champions League.
Since the turn of the year, they defeated Celtic 4-2 in their final match of the Champions League league phase, before easing past Club Brugge 3-0 at home in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie.
After losing 3-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final, Villa came from two goals behind to beat the French champions 3-2 on home soil.
PSG were under the pump for the final 20 minutes, with Villa creating several chances to level the tie on aggregate, but the visitors managed to hold on.
Since losing 2-0 to Arsenal at Villa Park last season - their first home match of the 2024/25 campaign - Villa have played 37 home games against 27 different teams, and only Crystal Palace have beaten them.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Villa Park truly is a fortress. And that’s why finishing in the top two of the Europa League league phase is so important, as it guarantees Villa home advantage for all of their second legs in the knockout rounds.
Now is the time for Villa to lift silverware under Emery, and having those second legs - in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals - at Villa Park would be a major advantage.
Last season, the top two sides in the league phase earned 19 points: Lazio and Athletic Bilbao.
With 12 points already on the board after beating Young Boys, Villa need a further seven to match last season’s total for the top two heading into the knockouts.
Next up for Villa is a trip to FC Basel in a fortnight’s time, before they travel to Fenerbahçe for their penultimate match, a week prior to hosting RB Salzburg on January 29.
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