Aston Villa are on a poor run of form in the Premier League. Since beating Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park, Unai Emery's side have had three draws and one defeat in the division. Their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town last time out was especially disappointing as the Tractor Boys were down to 10-men for much of the game.
Villa is still in the Champions League, but it is unclear if they will be able to qualify for European soccer again. They are ninth in the Premier League and face two crucial matches this week against the leaders, Liverpool and sixth-placed Chelsea.
Premier League table
TEAM | RECORD (last five games) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
Liverpool | W-W-W-D-W | 60 |
Arsenal | W-D-W-W-W | 53 |
Nottingham Forest | D-W-L-W-L | 47 |
Man City | D-W-W-L-W | 44 |
Bournemouth | D-W-W-L-W | 43 |
Chelsea | D-W-L-W-L | 43 |
Newcastle | W-L-W-L-L | 41 |
Fulham | L-W-L-W-W | 39 |
Aston Villa | W-D-D-L-D | 38 |
Brighton | W-W-L-L-W | 37 |
Brentford | D-L-W-L-W | 34 |
Tottenham | L-L-L-W-W | 30 |
Crystal Palace | W-W-L-W-L | 30 |
Everton | W-W-W-D-W | 30 |
Man United | W-L-W-L-L | 29 |
West Ham | W-L-D-L-L | 27 |
Wolves | L-L-L-W-L | 19 |
Ipswich | L-L-L-L-D | 17 |
Leicester | L-L-W-L-L | 17 |
Southampton | L-L-L-W-L | 9 |
Time for Marcus Rashford to start
Marcus Rashford came off the bench at half-time against Ipswich to turn the game around. He looked lively, as he did in his debut for Villa against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Rashford came close to scoring against the Tractor Boys as his free-kick hit the woodwork — luckily Ollie Watkins was on hand to tap in Villa's equaliser.
Rashford is only on loan at Villa from Manchester United. He reportedly still wants to move to Barcelona this summer. Rashford needs to continue to show the motivation he lacked recently at Old Trafford. Only then would top European teams consider signing the England forward.
Villa needs Rashford to turn around their run of poor results. If the player enjoys his time at Villa Park and the club qualify for European soccer, he may want to stay in Birmingham. Rashford has terrorised Liverpool and Chelsea previously in a United shirt, now it is time for him to do it in Claret and Blue.
European ambitions slipping away
Villa are six points off Manchester City — which currently occupy the last Champions League place in the Premier League. Therefore, Villa still have an outside chance of qualifying for European soccer's top competition. They are also through to the Champions League's last 16, but it would be a miracle if they were to win it — which would ensure qualification for the tournament next season.
Realistically, Villa can still qualify for the Europa League but may have to settle for a place in the Europa Conference League. The top half of the Premier League is very tight and there are a lot of clubs overachieving. Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham are all above Villa and have serious chances of European qualification.
Despite all his success, Emery is still yet to win a trophy with Villa. Another route into the Europa League is by winning the FA Cup. They face Cardiff City of the Championship in the fifth round later this month.
Can Villa beat Liverpool and Chelsea?
Villa will be facing arguably the best soccer team in the world when they host Liverpool on Wednesday. The Reds have only lost once in the Premier League all season — that was surprisingly against Forest back in September. Liverpool are leading the division by seven points and cannot afford any slip-ups.
It is difficult to see Villa beating Liverpool. When the two sides met earlier in the campaign, Arne Slot's side won 2-0 thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah. Liverpool did draw with Everton last week but that was with the emotion of it being the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Villa do have a home advantage this week, the team and their supporters must make this count.
Villa will have more of a chance against Chelsea on Saturday. The Blues have been on a mixed run of form recently with two wins, two losses and one draw in their last five games. They lost 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex last Friday night. Emery's side are also at home against Chelsea. However, when the two sides played at Stamford Bridge in their previous fixture this season, Enzo Maresca's team won 3-0.
Two defeats this week would be devastating for Villa's European ambitions. However, if they can at least get a draw with Liverpool and beat Chelsea, it should put them back in the mix for competition on the continent.