Aston Villa's record-equalling winning streak has them firmly in the Premier League title race picture alongside Arsenal and Manchester City
Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa celebrates
Ollie Watkins inspired Aston Villa's turnaround against Chelsea on Saturday(Image: David Watts/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Aston Villa once again proved their credentials in this season's Premier League title race as they came from behind to defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, thus keeping pace with Arsenal and Manchester City.
The only two rivals above Villa in the Premier League had both claimed three points in their respective fixtures earlier on Saturday. It then began to look like they would take a stronger grip of the title race when Unai Emery's side fell one goal behind in west London.
However, an inspired substitution saw Ollie Watkins make an instant impact equalising against Chelsea, before netting a late winner.
The 2-1 victory means Villa sit third, three points behind league leaders Arsenal while City are sandwiched between. The gap to fourth-placed Liverpool stands at seven points, then Saturday's opponents now sit outside of the Champions League qualification places - a whole ten points behind the Villans.
Therefore firmly part of any mid-season title talk, BirminghamLive compares Villa's upcoming fixtures with their closest challengers'...
Aston Villa's next five fixtures
Arsenal (A) - December 30 - Premier League
Nottingham Forest (H) - January 3, 2026 - Premier League
Crystal Palace (A) - January 7, 2026 - Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur (A) - January 10, 2026 - FA Cup third round
Everton (H) - January 18, 2026 - Premier League
Villa's upcoming fixtures are truly set to test their mettle in this season's Premier League title race, plus their ambition for other trophies.
Emery's men close out the year with a trip to Arsenal. Victory would allow them to climb level on points with the early-season favourites, whereas defeat would open up a chasm six points in size.
Following that is a Midlands derby against Forest - who despite their lowly place in the table are no pushovers - and the same sentiment could be shared of Palace, despite their recent run of four winless matches.
Afterwards, Villa go back to north London to face Spurs - this time in the FA Cup. Emery will have to decide just how important that competition is compared to narrowing his squad's focus.
And to end the run of the next five fixtures, Everton will come to Villa Park. David Moyes' side are an unpredictable challenge these days.
Arsenal's next five fixtures
Aston Villa (H) - December 30 - Premier League
Bournemouth (A) - January 3, 2026 - Premier League
Liverpool (H) - January 8, 2026 - Premier League
Portsmouth (A) - January 11, 2026 - FA Cup third round
Chelsea (A) - January 14, 2026 - League Cup semi-final first leg
Manchester City's next five fixtures
Sunderland (A) - January 1, 2026 - Premier League
Chelsea (H) - January 4, 2026 - Premier League
Brighton (H) - January 7, 2026 - Premier League
Exeter City (H) - January 10, 2026 - FA Cup third round
Newcastle United (A) - January 13, 2026 - League Cup semi-final first leg