Aston Villa enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, going on an 11-game unbeaten run and losing just once in their first 13 matches in all competitions. However, a surprising 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace changed everything. Unai Emery’s side have not won a game since and even worse, have lost their last four games in a row.
Embed from Getty ImagesLast season, Newcastle faced a similar decline despite a respectable run in the Champions League. It was silly errors that lead to the Magpies’ winter woes and Villa seem to be following suit.
Newcastle opened their league campaign with an emphatic 5-1 win over Aston Villa last season before losing three games in a row but picked themselves back up.
The concerns arose in early December, where a mistake-riddled affair led them to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Everton.
Kieran Trippier made two costly errors at Goodison Park, leading to goals for Dwight McNeil and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Similarly, this season, Aston Villa have lost games due to silly errors. In the Champions League, Tyrone Mings picked up the ball from a goal kick, conceding a penalty which led to his side’s first defeat of the season in that competition.
Embed from Getty ImagesThen just three days later, against Liverpool, Ezri Konsa’s header straight into Mohamed Salah’s feet resulted in the Egyptian doubling his side’s lead in a 2-0 victory.
Two schoolboy errors from two very experienced centre-backs.
Newcastle’s form continued to fall over the Christmas period. They lost 1-0 to Luton on December 23 and had to wait until late January before they won another league match. Ironically, it was a 3-1 win over Aston Villa to get them back on track.
Between the Luton loss and the win at Villa Park, Newcastle conceded 11 goals whilst only scoring five. That lack of ruthlessness in front of goal is exactly what the Villains are currently suffering from.
In their most recent match against Liverpool, they missed five big chances. Before that, in a 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, they found the target just once from 12 shots, missing three big chances.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe drop-off from the underdogs in the Champions League is clear, but there is still hope for Villa to qualify for Europe again this season.
Newcastle turned their fortunes around losing just twice in their final 10 games of the season. They finished in seventh place, initially qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Manchester United’s FA Cup triumph eventually saw Newcastle give up their space in the competition for Chelsea but they did finish in a European spot.
The same pattern could still pan out for Villa. They have a tough Christmas spell, facing the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Brighton; but, they can begin picking up consistent points again in the new year and make a push back toward the top seven. Aston Villa currently sit ninth but are only one point off third place Chelsea.
Due to the tightness in the top half, there is no better time than this year for Villa to secure European football for a third consecutive season.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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