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20 teams in 20 days – Aston Villa

By on July 28, 2014

Previewing all 20 Premier League club’s campaign in 20 days, Aston Villa is next in alphabetical order.

Manager: Paul Lambert
Stadium: Villa Park
Nickname: The Villa
Finish Last Season: 15th

Only seven teams have continuously been in the English top flight since it was rebranded as the Premier League in the 1992/1993 season – Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Aston Villa.  Among these clubs, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have won the league a total of nineteen of just twenty-two modern Premier League titles between them. Liverpool have finished inside the top three on seven occasions, and Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have some of the most rich club histories, while also fighting for top four finished the past fee seasons. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have not finished inside the top five since the mid nineties, and for the past few seasons have begun to find themselves being slowly dragged into the relegation battle. That, recently, has been their one claim to fame in the Premier League. Other than that, and perhaps their 8-0 loss to Chelsea, tied for the second worst defeat in EPL history, the past decade for Villa has been mediocrity. Not Europa League contention, nor relegation. Mediocrity.

This season, and likely for many more, that is their biggest battle. Thankfully, the club have had Paul Lambert in charge. Lambert has begun addressing the long term, introducing a new faced young squad since he took over, that was the youngest in the Premier League last season.  The club won the NextGen tournament in 2013, and have so far been able to hold onto their youth talent, unlike the likes of Southampton, who no longer have the second youngest EPL squad as they did a year ago.  Leandro Bacuna, Ashley Westwood, Andreas Weimann, Matthew Lowton, and namely Christian Benteke are all still around to bring Villa back out of mediocrity.  Mixed with the experience of Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos, and Darren Bent, Villa might finally hit a golden generation in the coming seasons. For the past few seasons it has been yet to pay off, but this season it might just.

There are not many gaps in their squad, either, especially for a mid-table club.  With two prime goalkeepers in Brad Guzan and Shay Given, and a back line that consists of Kieran Richardson, Vlaar, Senderos, Lowton, and the likes of starlet Ciaran Clack as back-up, their defensive line is quite solid.  Wingers include Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Bacuna, while up front they have Benteke, who scored eleven goals in just twenty-eight appearances for Villa last season, and Bent.  If anywhere, they are lacking in central midfield, although the new kids on the block Westwood and Fabian Delph do a lot more than simply carry their own weight.  Last season, the pair had a direct hand in ten Premier League goals and made more than sixty-five combined appearances.  Providing a few of their brightest stars like Benteke and Lowton can begin to reach their potential next season Villa could be dark horses for a top seven or eight finish.  Last season, Villa spent on youth talent while also benefitting from their youth ranks, and this year they have so far been sitting back and letting their squad blossom.  Over the next for seasons more experienced players will have to come in and out, but building a backbone around their youth is the way to go for Villa, and so far Lambert has been taking that route.

Tactically, Villa play direct to Benteke or play in the pockets of space he creates for the wingers by attracting the center-backs, but as long as the club’s youth rises to the occasion, again, namely Benteke, tactics can be slightly more expandable.  As long as the wingers, full-backs, and forwards which Villa are producing at record rate, perform, the club can be in for a good run, even without the money of the big name clubs.

Very quickly into the coming season Villa will be met with a barrage of their toughest opponents, before their fixture list eases off and then presents them with a challenge late on.  As long as Villa can start well in their first three win-able matches, and then find their form midseason, a top ten finish is all but booked.

Full Fixture List:

16/08/2014 15:00 Stoke City v Aston Villa
23/08/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Newcastle United
30/08/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Hull City
13/09/2014 15:00 Liverpool v Aston Villa
20/09/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Arsenal
27/09/2014 15:00 Chelsea v Aston Villa
04/10/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Manchester City
18/10/2014 15:00 Everton v Aston Villa
25/10/2014 15:00 Queens Park Rangers v Aston Villa
01/11/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur
08/11/2014 15:00 West Ham United v Aston Villa
22/11/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Southampton
29/11/2014 15:00 Burnley v Aston Villa
02/12/2014 20:00 Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
06/12/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Leicester City
13/12/2014 15:00 West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa
20/12/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Manchester United
26/12/2014 15:00 Swansea City v Aston Villa
28/12/2014 15:00 Aston Villa v Sunderland
01/01/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
10/01/2015 15:00 Leicester City v Aston Villa
17/01/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Liverpool
31/01/2015 15:00 Arsenal v Aston Villa
07/02/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Chelsea
10/02/2015 19:45 Hull City v Aston Villa
21/02/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Stoke City
28/02/2015 15:00 Newcastle United v Aston Villa
03/03/2015 19:45 Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion
14/03/2015 15:00 Sunderland v Aston Villa
21/03/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Swansea City
04/04/2015 15:00 Manchester United v Aston Villa
11/04/2015 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
18/04/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Queens Park Rangers
25/04/2015 15:00 Manchester City v Aston Villa
02/05/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Everton
09/05/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v West Ham United
16/05/2015 15:00 Southampton v Aston Villa
24/05/2015 15:00 Aston Villa v Burnley

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.