Football writer Alex Keble assesses each Premier League club and their prospects for the 2024/25 season.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa's fourth-place finish in the Premier League last season meant they qualified for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League - Europe's top club competition - for the first time.
They now have dreams of becoming one of the best teams in the world – and supporters are beginning to believe it's possible.
Why wouldn’t they? Plenty of owners are as ambitious as Villa’s but few so consistently hit their targets, and with the adored head coach Unai Emery in charge, fans have every right to believe things will keep getting better.
Another busy summer of transfer activity tells us they aren’t about to slow down.
Performance last season
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
FA Cup: Fourth round
EFL Cup: Third round
UEFA Conference League: Semi-finals
Last five seasons
| Season | League position |
|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 17th |
| 2020/21 | 11th |
| 2021/22 | 14th |
| 2022/23 | 7th |
| 2023/24 | 4th |
Best Premier League finish
Second: 1992/93
See: More about Aston Villa's history
Season aims
Only with sustained Champions League qualification can Villa begin to bridge the gap to the top, which makes another top-four finish the priority. But supporters are desperate for silverware, having gone 28 years without a major trophy, since they won the League Cup.
As for the Champions League, beating one of Europe's top clubs at Villa Park would be mission accomplished, and yet… who knows? Emery took Villarreal to the semi-finals of the competition in 2022 on a considerably smaller budget. Stranger things have happened.
Key transfers
It’s been a hectic summer so far. Losing Douglas Luiz to Juventus was a huge blow, but Villa have addressed an ageing squad by signing six players aged 23 or under, the best of the lot being Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen.
Ross Barkley is a smart addition, too. But if Villa's reported pursuit of Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix comes off, that’s all anyone will be talking about.
Villa's key transfers so far
| Player | Transfer Type | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Maatsen |  Transfer In |
Chelsea |
| Douglas Luiz |  Transfer Out |
Juventus |
| Ross Barkley | Transfer In |
Luton |
| Amadou Onana | Transfer In |
Everton |
| Moussa Diaby | Transfer Out |
Al Ittihad |
See: Clubs' summer 2024 transfers
Tactics
Emery’s Villa are at the vanguard of modern football tactics in their use of "artificial transitions"; baiting the opposition press before spinning around it.
That’s the standout feature, although their organisation in possession combined with their extremely high line when they don't have the ball, and their incessant proactive and reactive tweaks, are testament to Emery’s unusual tactical gift.
Injury report
| Player | Injury | Latest Update |
|---|---|---|
| Boubacar Kamara | Knee | Details |
Pre-season results and fixtures
17 July Walsall 0-3 Aston Villa Report
20 July Spartak Trnava 0-3 Aston Villa Report
28 July Columbus Crew 4-1 Aston Villa Report
1 Aug RB Leipzig 2-0 Aston Villa Report
3 Aug Aston Villa 0-1 Club America Report
7 Aug Aston Villa 3-2 Athletic Bilbao Report
10 Aug v Borussia Dortmund (A) Details
What the manager says
Unai Emery: "The process is clear. We go [to] Europe through the Conference League and we got Champions League. Now it is the highest challenge I can have and we can have at Aston Villa, which is to keep it.
"Keep it in the Premier League, being competitive in the Champions League and, of course, two cups we are going to play are other opportunities to get some trophies. We have to try and be contenders in case in those competitions we can progress in different matches."
Best XI (4-2-3-1)
Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen; Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana; Leon Bailey, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers; Ollie Watkins
Opening PL fixtures
Kits
See: More details at Aston Villa's online store