Aston Villa is currently fifth in the Premier League table with 15 points from seven matches. They have won four of their last five matches, and are getting better each game this campaign.
Aston Villa held their own against Chelsea and Crystal Palace. They scored six past Brighton this weekend, and will face Wolves next a match, where they will be favourites to win.
Aston Villa has another winnable game against West Ham, with the game against the Hammers likely to be a tougher test then Brighton they will need to go up a few gears to win.
North London outfit Spurs is also a contender for being the real deal this season as they have had convincing wins over both Manchester United and Burnley.
Villa’s attackers are firing on all cylinders
Unai Emery’s side is tied with Newcastle United for the second most Premier League goals (18) behind Brighton (19), who has scored the most. This is surprisingly more than Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool who currently occupy the top four places.
A huge reason behind the number of goals they scored is the attackers being in a rich vein of form. Moussa Diaby scored two goals and has got three assists in the seven Premier League games he has played so far this season. This is remarkable considering he joined Aston Villa from the Bundesliga, a league where players have notoriously struggled such as Jadon Sancho and Timo Werner.
Another attacker who has performed this season comes in the shape of Ollie Watkins. So far this campaign he has got four goals and three assists in seven league games. Watkins performances so far this season do not come as a surprise since last season he scored 15 Premier League goals in 37 games.
Goals are important as Manchester United found out the hard way last season. The Red Devils finished third despite keeping more clean sheets then both Man City and Arsenal.Â
Tough fixtures lie ahead
Unai Emery’s side is yet to face Man City, Arsenal, Man United and Spurs this season. Villa will need to prove that they can go toe-to-toe with the Big Six in order to back up the claim that they are the real deal this season. To say they performed poorly in their first big test of the season – the 6-1 drumming against Newcastle United – is an understatement to say the least.
Aston Villa will need to rotate squad
Unai Emery’s side has got off to a brilliant start, but the Spaniard will need to use all of his squad options since they are in Europe this season. This is a well thought out idea considering many have tipped Villa to waltz through the group by playing a significantly depleted side to the starting XI that starts in the Premier League.
It is Emery’s decision whether they will take they FA Cup seriously given they were knocked out of the EFL Cup after losing 1-2 at home to Everton. Whether he rotates in the competition is dependent upon who they get drawn against and how far they go.