Aston Villa have lost their sparkle on home ground. In the Premier League, they have won only one of their past four matches at Villa Park, and that was courtesy of a late corner against Brighton & Hove Albion to determine a one-goal clash.
This recent spate of frustrating results has seemingly ended hopes of winning the top-flight title for the first time since 1981, a dream that Unai Emery has always been quick to cast as far-fetched.
The Spaniard might be something of a realist, but he's also brilliant and has transformed Aston Villa, lifted them up to the fore. Qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three years is very much on the cards.
However, the 54-year-old will need to navigate around an injury crisis that is threatening the Villans' campaign.
Emery must overcome Villa injury crisis
As we approach the business months of the season, Aston Villa are third in the Premier League and await their opponent in the last 16 of the Europa League, a competition Emery knows and loves.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery-1
However, his midfield has been stretched thin since the festive period, with John McGinn and Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara all sidelined.
Kamara is out until next season, while Tielemans' ankle injury will keep him out until after the March international break. McGinn, at least, is nearing a return, though he's still expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks and thus will miss key fixtures against Wolves and Chelsea in the Premier League.
Aston Villa trudged through last summer's transfer window on a shoestring budget, but a few exciting players were recruited in January.
However, one of those players has yet to prove himself capable in the middle of the park.
Aston Villa recruit is proving a liability
The theme of the winter transfer window was homecoming for Aston Villa. Tammy Abraham is on form at centre-forward, having once lifted Villa back into the Premier League as a loanee.
He's earning minutes, but the same can't quite be said for Douglas Luiz, who has rejoined the Lions on a loan deal until the end of the season. Having failed to make it work at Nottingham Forest, the Brazil international was identified by Emery as a shrewd way to counter the recent injury problems.
Douglas Luiz Nottingham Forest
It's not Luiz's fault that his midfield peers have all dropped like flies. But he is culpable for a landslide in form in the time since he first starred at Villa Park. The intervening years away have been unkind to his fluency and sharpness in midfield, and he's certainly no longer on par with someone like Declan Rice.
Back in 2023, former Liverpool midfielder Jermaine Pennant contentiously claimed that the 27-year-old "can do everything Rice can and better".
The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell has also hailed him as "one of the Premier League's standout midfielders" in the past, and during 2023/24, that was definitely the case.
Douglas Luiz in the Premier League
Stats (* per game)
Matches (starts)
Goals
Assists
Touches*
Pass completion
Big chances created
Key passes*
Dribbles*
Ball recoveries*
Tackles*
Duels (won)*
Now, Luiz is struggling to provide the same effect that Villa's more established (and injured) midfielders have enjoyed over the past several years.
Luiz will continue to play an important part for Aston Villa this season, but he doesn't look like the same player who once starred as a focal point in the earlier part of Emery's tenure.
Perhaps he will play a strong enough role until the end of the season to help secure for Villa a place in the Champions League once again.
But, maybe like last time, he won't play a part on the continental stage, this time because he isn't the same player as before.
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