Why Aston Villa have been shocking so far this season - and how Unai Emery can turn it around at Sunderland
Aston Villa are seeking their first victory of the season after a dismal start to the campaign
Aston Villa are currently experiencing their worst start to a league season in 28 years and their chances of winning a domestic trophy have already been significantly reduced, after a disappointing Carabao Cup exit in the third round against Brentford.
The Villans, who are goalless in the league, finally got off the mark against the Bees when summer signing Harvey Elliott opened the scoring after 43 minutes. It was a weak shot from point-blank range which Hakon Valdimarsson calamitously allowed to squeeze through his legs, and beyond that the travelling fans had little to celebrate at the Gtech Community Stadium.
They were the latest victims of a Brentford long throw which was converted by Aaron Hickey, after almost two years out through injuries - and had to wait until the 82nd minute to hit the target again through Matty Cash before falling short on penalties.
It’s the start of nightmares for a Villa team that only missed out on Champions League football last season on goal difference, after a Morgan Rogers goal was controversially denied on the final day. At the moment they are very much playing like a team that’s still reliving that moment and perhaps feeling a tad sorry for themselves. But what’s going so wrong at Villa at the moment, and what is the reason behind their poor start?
What’s gone wrong for Aston Villa this season?
Aston Villa, like a number of Premier League teams, have been victims of the top-flight’s Profit and Sustainability rules, which without doubt have had a detrimental effect on the team’s transfer activity and their ability to prepare this summer.
On the opening day of the season in their 0-0 draw against a Newcastle United side, who found themselves in a similar predicament in the summer of 2024, both fans chanted together, expressing their dissatisfaction at the rules which they feel protect the established ‘big six’ in the division - and essentially create a barrier which prevents their team and others from smashing the glass ceiling.
Villa quite reluctantly agreed to sell Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle United in the summer for around £40m - in a transfer that drew some parallels from when the Magpies were forced to offload Elliott Anderson and Yankuba Minteh 12 months earlier.
They also spent much of the summer sweating over the future of star goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, amid talks of a potential sale to Manchester United. That particular saga dragged on all the way up to deadline day and may well have contributed to the Argentine missing a 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace. The World Cup winner ultimately remained with the club, but it’s hard to imagine such a saga not having an effect on both the player and those around him.
In recent times Villa have also been forced to sell Douglas Luiz, Jhon Duran, Leon Bailey, Diego Carlos and Moussa Diaby among others. They’ve brought in some talent such as Evann Guessand, a 12-goal striker from OGC Nice for £26m, but on the whole have largely been restricted to loan signings such as Elliott and Jadon Sancho and even they have only had a few weeks to settle after arriving on deadline day.
Whether the Premier League’s PSR rules are right or wrong is probably for another article, but there’s no doubt they have contributed to a negative atmosphere around Villa Park which can only really be improved by an upturn in performances and most importantly results.
Aston Villa have golden opportunity to kick-start their season against Sunderland
Aston Villa are experiencing a tricky patch of form and arguably their biggest test to date under Unai Emery after an incredible period of progress. However, despite the underwhelming transfer window, they are still blessed with a squad that’s more than capable of qualifying for Europe and challenging for major honours, and a manager that’s already proven he can weather bigger storms in Emery.
In Ollie Watkins they have one of the most formidable finishers in the Premier League, and a player with a terrific gift at getting in behind defences and causing problems. He’s yet to score this season and a big underlying factor behind that is the fact he’s simply getting nowhere near enough service at present.
That needs to change against Sunderland if they want to avoid an upset and based on the fact that players like Rogers and Youri Tielemans both made over 100 shot-creating actions there’s no reason why that cannot change against Sunderland.
Villa started with John McGinn and Emi Buendia in the wide attacking areas against Everton, but to give themselves an optimum chance of winning the game against Sunderland they need to play on the front foot with Harvey Elliott playing on the right-wing, Rogers as a No.10 and someone with pace such as Donyell Malen out wide to create as much as possible for Watkins and ensure there’s plenty of players making runs in behind that can give the team some spark.
Emery has used a similar attacking approach in the past against newly-promoted teams and it’s worked to great effect. He’s lost none of his 15 Premier League games against newly promoted sides since joining Villa, winning 12 and drawing three.