4. Aston Villa
Aston Villa have gotten themselves in to similar trouble in recent seasons but always find a way of dragging themselves to safety. The tactic for the end of this year was to bring in a new manager, Tim Sherwood. Former manager Paul Lambert had lost the faith of the fans and it was music to their ears when he got the chop. Lambert was going in to each game and seemingly hoping for a draw, and drew out some of the most boring football one could imagine. Sherwood has come in and is playing a far more attractive style of play which has pleased neutrals and Villa fans alike. Whether the new man has what it takes to save them is yet to be seen, but they are however the only team on this list to have won any of their last three games.
They are currently 17th in the league, three points from safety. If they lose at the weekend against relegation rivals Sunderland they are going to be in a world of hurt. If they fall in Sunderland and either QPR or Burnley win at the weekend, Villa will drop to the relegation zone due to an inferior goal difference. (Villa have only scored 15 goals so far this season, all credit goes to former manager Paul Lambert). It’s very unlikely that Burnley will beat Man City at the weekend, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that QPR will beat Crystal Palace and send Villa to the drop zone. Villa beating Sunderland will give their team a big boost and send a statement to the league that they will fight tooth and nail to stay alive.
Some things going against Villa right now:
1- They have scored four goals in their last 10 league games. (Yes different manager, but same team)
2- They are in the FA cup semi final. Yes it’s a great thing and a fantastic achievement, but it could serve as a big distraction leading in to the final chapter of this season. I’m sure Villa fans are ecstatic about getting to Wembley, but would they rather a cup win or staying in the league? Exactly.
3- They have a new manager. Yes, Tim Sherwood has had a great impact and gotten two positive results out of three, but whether or not he can get the Villa team to be consistent is yet to be seen. It’s not rare that a manager comes in to a struggling team and you see an improvement, but it’s rare that the positive impact stretches to a consistent run over ten games. One thing that can’t be argued is that Villa made the right choice by getting rid of Paul Lambert, but let’s wait before determining if they made the right choice of bringing Sherwood in.
Aston Villa’s remaining fixtures:
Sunderland, Swansea, Man United, Tottenham, QPR, Man City, Everton, West Ham, Southampton and Burnley.
It’s not an ideal set of fixtures going in to the last ten games and they will all but certainly lose to Man United, Tottenham and Man City. However they are gifted with the opportunity of saving themselves with games against their rivals. I do see Villa coming up good at the end of the season, however it’s not guaranteed. They have it in their hands from here on out, if they go down they will only have themselves to blame.
Next: No.3: QPR