Unai Emery's Aston Villa face an exciting end to the season after positioning themselves in the top four and reaching the Europa League quarter-finals in the final two months
Aston Villa have won 26 matches this season across all competitions
Aston Villa have won 26 matches this season across all competitions(Image: Richard Lee/Shutterstock)
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With the final weeks of the season approaching, Aston Villa fans have every reason to be excited about what their team could achieve by the end of May.
A return to the Champions League is Unai Emery’s primary goal, while lifting silverware is also on his mind - possibly a fifth Europa League trophy in his career.
It was a difficult start to the season for Villa, and they exhibited some patchy form after the New Year as well, but there’s every chance the club can still achieve what would be viewed as a perfect campaign.
At the start of the season, the feeling within the club was that qualifying for the Champions League might have been a stretch too far, especially after a difficult summer window that involved spending very little money and selling homegrown talent Jacob Ramsey to European-chasing rivals Newcastle United.
Villa failed to win any of their opening six matches in all competitions. However, they responded in emphatic fashion, winning 19 of their next 21 games, including an 11-match winning streak.
Following disappointing defeats against Wolves and Chelsea, victories over Lille in the Europa League round of 16 and then West Ham before the March break have restored optimism among the fanbase.
Momentum strongly influences how a fan may judge their club’s season, but the facts speak for themselves: Villa have won nine of their ten European matches this season, while only three Premier League teams have collected more points over 31 matches.
This is a remarkable campaign, worthy of a 9/10 score so far, with only failures to make a significant impact in the domestic cup competitions slightly lowering that rating.
Context is crucial when analysing the season’s success, and without Boubacar Kamara since January, and John McGinn and Youri Tielemans out for two months, Villa’s overall performance looks even more impressive.
Being hit by injuries and restricted by financial rules are two major factors contributing to Villa's strong season rating, especially given that they are competing against some of the world's wealthiest clubs while also juggling the Europa League.
However, how this season will be remembered will only be defined in the coming weeks, with Villa holding a six-point buffer inside the top five and entering the Europa League quarter-finals against Bologna - a team they have beaten twice in the last 18 months.