Five Reasons to be Cheerful After Villa Complete Champions League Group Stage
With the Champions League league stage over and done with, Aston Villa have emerged as one of eight elite sides to skip the next ‘play off’ round. Now, with the Premier League back in full focus and only a few hours remaining of the ‘January’ window, it promises to be a very busy time at Villa Park. Here are five reasons to be cheerful as Villa continue to transform.
Watkins Limelight
Approximately two years ago, this column questioned whether Danny Ings’ departure could revitalise a struggling Ollie Watkins and help him kickstart his season. On that occasion, Watkins hit his best run of form in a Villa shirt, propelling the club up the table to secure a return to European football.
Now, two years later, Watkins once again finds himself as Villa’s undisputed striker following the departure of Jhon Durán. Despite scoring eleven goals this season, Watkins has been wasteful in front of goal since reaching the 19-goal mark in the 2023/24 campaign. However, with Durán now catching rays in Saudi, it is not inconceivable that Watkins could rediscover the electric form of two seasons ago and help Villa finish the campaign on a high and get over the 20 goals in the Premier League mark. Finger’s crossed.
Monchi Madness
From Félix (again) to Asensio to Rashford, the transfer window merry-go-round is in full swing with only a few hours remaining, and Aston Villa are seemingly at the centre of every rumour. Despite offloading players before replacing them and leaving the match day squad short, we’ll give Monchi the benefit of the doubt until the window closes.
Marcus Rashford, if he turns up for the remainder of the season, could have plenty of upside and make us not miss the impact that Jhon Duran serves up. By Tuesday morning, the dust will have settled, and Villa fans will be hoping to see at least two new arrivals joining Rashford and recent signings Andrés García and Donyell Malen…but, please can one of them be a centre-back!
Injury Hopes
Qualification into the last sixteen of the Champions League allows Villa to skip the play-off round and reduces the fixture congestion in February. While this is clearly a benefit for all of the eight sides that topped the Champions League league phase, it is of particular importance to Villa, whose squad is increasingly down to its bare bones.
A month away from European football will provide the likes of Pau Torres, Amadou Onana, Tyrone Mings, Ross Barkley and Matt Cash with the chance to return to full fitness before the Champions League campaign recommences in March. Also, it will provide at least some time to bed in any new signings before that last 16 European clash.
February Fixtures
While Villa secured a major feat in the Champions League opening stage, the domestic league form has been patchy and unconvincing on the whole. Nonetheless, Unai Emery’s men some how are still within touching distance of the top five and February will present a genuine opportunity to salvage the league campaign.
Villa will face off with Ipswich, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, as well as an FA Cup tie with Spurs. The three league matches, while difficult, are winnable and present an opportunity to use last Wednesday evening’s high as a springboard to gain ground on the teams above.
PS – In recent seasons, we don’t tend to do well at the Doghead’s custard bowl, so let’s not even go there.
European Voyage
Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign has already delivered some of the most memorable moments in recent history, from the highs of the home matches against Bayern Munich, Juventus (at least the momentary elation of a last-minute winner), Bologna, and Celtic, to a strong away performance in Leipzig. Villa Park has been electric on European nights, with Villa proving they belong among Europe’s elite. But now, the journey is about to enter its most exciting and nerve-racking stage—the knockout phase.
Villa’s potential last-16 opponents have been confirmed as Club Brugge, Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, or Sporting Lisbon, all of whom will provide a worthy challenge. However, there’s a sense that the draw has been kind to Villa, avoiding Europe’s true juggernauts and offering a realistic path to the quarter-finals, where things will get spicy with Liverpool or Barcelona potentially waiting.
UTV
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