Villa managed to record a vital, but costly, away win at Turf Moor on New Year’s Day, outlasting Burnley 1-2. The match was notable not only for getting us back out of the drop zone and seeing a new formation from Dean Smith, but also sadly for season-ending injuries to Wesley and Tom Heaton. What already looked to be an extremely important window suddenly became even more so.
Villa’s stretch of matches against fellow cellar dwellers didn’t get off to such a great start Saturday, but the side rebounded on Boxing Day, securing a crucial three points against visiting Norwich with a 1-0 victory.
Fresh on the heels of a relatively successful visit to Old Trafford, Villa head to Stamford Bridge to see if they can get more points off another big side. Could be tough with Chelsea losing to West Ham at the weekend, as they’ll obviously be looking for a response. But if, as Dean Smith says, Villa can keep their organization and concentration, it would be quite a statement to follow up the 2-2 draw with United by getting something tonight.
Nothing’s easy in the Premier League, as we saw at Molineux. Though Villa sit about where we might expect, we’ve left points on the pitch and things remain fairly tight outside the top end of the table. What do Villa need to do better in the upcoming run of matches?
Villa are back in action and looking to build on the 5-1 thumping of Norwich as Brighton visit Villa Park.
