2026/2027 season

Premier League

Team page
Premier League · Team page
Aston Villa
Head coach: Unai Emery · Non établi : un seul match vérifié à ce stade. Sur la feuille de match Sky Sports de Brighton - Aston Villa (23/08/2026, défaite 0-4), Villa aligne une ligne à quatre (Cash, Lindelöf, Torres, Maatsen) devant Bizot, un double pivot Kamara - João Gomes complété par McGinn et Barkley, et un front à deux Buendía - Hemmings, Ollie Watkins étant hors groupe faute d'avant-centre de métier disponible (rapport de match ESPN du 23/08/2026, qui décrit Buendía comme « the team's most advanced forward »). Ce relevé, tiré d'un match unique et faussé par l'indisponibilité du secteur offensif, ne peut valoir dispositif de référence ; le onze d'Aston Villa - Arsenal du 31/08/2026 n'a pu être vérifié dans aucune source réellement ouverte.
Rank
12th
Pts
8
P
7
Form
🟡 Average

The essentials at a glance

The summary of this page: estimated level of play, form trend and qualitative verdict. For the details, head to the other tabs.

Editors' ratings
3/10
Attack
4/10
Defence
5/10
Form
5/10
Confidence / mood
Current risk:High

12th with 8 pts from 7 matches: 2 wins, 2 draws, 3 defeats.

7 goals scored, 11 conceded.

The player trained at Aston Villa and loaned by Southampton forged a big mind, thanks to his three older brothers.

L'Équipe · 18 Oct 2026 · machine-translated

Aston Villa are a side back in form, with Johan Manzambi scoring the winner against a Newcastle team he turned down to move to Villa Park.

BBC Sport · 17 Oct 2026

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts to his 100th Premier League win after victory against Newcastle at St James Park.

BBC Sport · 17 Oct 2026

Johan Manzambi heads the winner for Aston Villa against Newcastle, marking manager Unai Emery's 100th Premier League victory.

BBC Sport · 17 Oct 2026

How the team has played recently

Match-by-match results, record and rhythm of the current season.

Latest matches
Wvs Newcastle United FC (A) · 1-0
Dvs Brentford FC (H) · 2-2
Wvs Tottenham Hotspur FC (A) · 3-2
Lvs Nottingham Forest FC (H) · 1-2
Dvs Hull City AFC (A) · 0-0
WWDDLLL
7 scored / 11 conceded over 7 matches played
Rest: 1 day since the last match · 2 matches played in the last 15 days
Home form
0W - 1D - 2L
Away form
2W - 1D - 1L
Statistics

Computed from this season's scores, every time the page is shown.

Goals scored per match
1.4
Goals conceded per match
1.2
At home
3 scored · 4 conceded in 2 matches
Away
4 scored · 2 conceded in 3 matches
Over 2.5 goals
3 of 5
Both teams score
3 of 5
Clean sheets
2 of 5
Failed to score
1 of 5
Cumulative points vs league average

Not enough matchdays recorded yet for this curve — history builds up with every standings refresh.

How Aston Villa play

System, playing identity, and what sets the team apart at both ends of the pitch.

Playing identity
Preferred system
Non établi : un seul match vérifié à ce stade. Sur la feuille de match Sky Sports de Brighton - Aston Villa (23/08/2026, défaite 0-4), Villa aligne une ligne à quatre (Cash, Lindelöf, Torres, Maatsen) devant Bizot, un double pivot Kamara - João Gomes complété par McGinn et Barkley, et un front à deux Buendía - Hemmings, Ollie Watkins étant hors groupe faute d'avant-centre de métier disponible (rapport de match ESPN du 23/08/2026, qui décrit Buendía comme « the team's most advanced forward »). Ce relevé, tiré d'un match unique et faussé par l'indisponibilité du secteur offensif, ne peut valoir dispositif de référence ; le onze d'Aston Villa - Arsenal du 31/08/2026 n'a pu être vérifié dans aucune source réellement ouverte.
Philosophy
Not verified for 2026-27: no source consulted documents the playing principles shown by Unai Emery this season. The predicted line-ups published ahead of Aston Villa - Arsenal (31/08) by Sports Illustrated and Football365 relate to a match not yet played and do not constitute a fact; the two outlets do not, moreover, agree on the formation.
Attacking strengths
No goals scored in the only matchday played (0-4 defeat at Brighton on 23/08). According to Football365 (26/08), Ollie Watkins refused to make himself available for that match in connection with his transfer to Al-Hilal, and injuries to the other forwards left Villa without a recognised centre-forward.
Defensive solidity
4 goals conceded in the only match played, all before the break at the Amex (half-time 4-0 according to football-data.co.uk data); Sports Illustrated writes that the four goals came in 23 minutes. João Gomes was also sent off with a straight red card in that match.
Pressing
According to VAVEL's season preview (17/08/2026) — a pundit's reading, not confirmed by the club and based in part on trends from the end of last season — Aston Villa favour a fairly low, compact block out of possession, with structure taking precedence over the intensity of the high press. After the defeat against Brighton (23/08/2026), Unai Emery referred to individual errors that had cost goals, without publicly detailing this season's pressing set-up.
Transitions
No reliable, dated tactical analysis of transitional behaviour could be verified at this stage; the only element available is descriptive rather than analytical: the Sky Sports match report (23/08/2026) attributes Brighton's opening goal to a misplaced back-pass by Pau Torres that set off the defensive collapse, without any source describing this type of episode as a recurring pattern in defensive transition.
StrengthAmbitious, targeted summer recruitment: Zion Suzuki (Parma, around £30m according to Football365), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham, on loan according to Football365); continuity in the head coach's position with Unai Emery; participation in the 2026-27 Champions League league phase, with a first match scheduled in Bruges on 08/09.
WeaknessMass departures of senior players: Emiliano Martínez and Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, Ezri Konsa to Arsenal, Lucas Digne to PSG (worldfootball.net). Football365 points out that five starters from the win against Arsenal in December 2025 have left the club. Attacking department disrupted by the Watkins affair and by the absences of Onana, Madjo and Manzambi; João Gomes suspended.

The mood around the club, and who is missing

Internal climate, relationship with the supporters, and known absences before the next match.

Mood
Squad confidence
Low but not collapsed, and above all carried single-handedly by the head coach. Zero points, zero goals scored and second-from-bottom place make this the squad's worst start, but Unai Emery chose to focus on the content of the match against Arsenal, saying he could feel confident despite the defeat and summing up what comes next with a phrase about hard work. The players follow the same line: goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, on his Villa Park debut, took his share of responsibility for the goal conceded rather than looking for excuses. The dressing room, though, is coming out of a summer of demolition and rebuilding, with six European starters gone, and has yet to find its attacking bearings.
Coach / players / board relationship
Unai Emery signed a five-year extension tying him to the club until 2029, welcomed by chairman Nassef Sawiris (“We are building something special here at Aston Villa with Unai at its core”, Flashscore, in an article referring to the club's 150th anniversary — i.e. 2024 — with no clearly identified publication date): the relationship with the board therefore looks settled for the long term, with nothing reported to have been called into question after the 0-4 defeat at Brighton. The Watkins situation, on the other hand, is straining the relationship between coach and squad: asked about the player's absence, Emery replied “Ask him. I only can answer it by silence” (Football365, 23 Aug 2026, then the same quote carried by Sky Sports, 24 Aug 2026), while insisting on the “commitment” shown by the players who were there; the club is refusing to sell Watkins for now despite rejecting an offer from Al-Hilal (Sky Sports, 24 Aug 2026).
Mood with the supporters
Pundit Paul Merson called Ollie Watkins's attitude “disgusting at the highest level” and argued that the club should withhold his wages, stressing what supporters pay (Football365, 26 Aug). This is a pundit's opinion, not a measure of the mood around the club.
Pressure on the head coach
It is rising, mechanically, but without any public trial. Unai Emery remains protected by his extension and by considerable credit with the board, to the point that Sky Sports staged a debate between Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher on his standing among the league's best managers. The fact remains that none of his forwards has yet scored in the league and that the club sit 19th before travelling to a newly promoted side on six points from six. The trip to Hull on 5 September therefore becomes the first real test of his season in points terms.
Club objectives
According to remarks attributed to Unai Emery and carried identically by Yahoo Sports and Football Today (article of 18 Aug 2026), the head coach says he is targeting a top-six place in the Premier League and states: “Clearly, winning the Champions League is something I dream of”; since both articles quote the same statement, this is a single source republished rather than independent corroboration. Both pieces temper the ambition by recalling the Premier League's financial rules and the loss of key players (Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans in particular). Qualification for the 2026-27 Champions League league phase is meanwhile secured, with a first match scheduled at Brugge on 8 Sep 2026 (an element already known from the context provided, not re-verified in this search).
Recent internal tensions
The Ollie Watkins situation is the main reported tension: according to Football365 (26 Aug), the forward refused to make himself available for the match at Brighton while an agreement had been reached with Al-Hilal (around £11m a year). Sports Illustrated (31 Aug) writes that he has since apologised; that point is not confirmed by Football365. Ian Maatsen was also the subject of an approach from Manchester United to which the club responded (Football365, 30 Aug).
Absences
InjuredAmadou Onana — Serious knee injury: the midfielder is not expected back before June 2027.
SuspendedJoão Gomes — Suspended after a straight red card, with his return announced for around 19 September.
InjuredLeon Bailey — Muscle injury with no return date given.
InjuredJohan Manzambi — Knee problem, with a return estimated for around 12 September.
InjuredBrian Madjo — Ankle injury, with a return estimated for around 12 September.
DoubtfulLeon Goretzka — Physical discomfort: he is rated at around a 50% chance of being available in early September.

Before kick-off

What to know before the next match: statistical form, qualitative analysis, and a computed estimate of the 1/X/2 probabilities.

Next match

Aston Villa — Manchester City

At homeSaturday 24 October at 13:30Matchday 8
In 5 days. Kick-off time confirmed by the league. Paris time · football-data.org fixtures.

Prediction, odds and form of both teams →

What the press says

No preview found for this fixture. The press mostly covers the big games, and usually the day before.

Prediction
EstimateAston Villa — Manchester City
13 %
1 · Aston Villa
19 %
X · draw
68 %
2 · Manchester City
In-house calculation, from this page's standings data alone: 7 matches played by Aston Villa, 7 matches by Manchester City. Confidence: medium
The formula, in plain words — with this match's figures
  1. League average. 189 goals scored over 130 team-matches played (20 teams taken into account), i.e. μ = 1.45 goal scored per team per match. This is the reference point: everything that follows is expressed relative to it.
  2. Attacking and defensive strengths. Goals scored (or conceded) per match, divided by μ. 1.00 = exactly average; in defence, above 1.00 means “concedes more than average”.
    TeamGoalsRawKept
    Aston Villa — attack7 in 7 matches0.690.83
    Aston Villa — defence11 in 7 matches1.081.04
    Manchester City — attack19 in 7 matches1.871.47
    Manchester City — defence7 in 7 matches0.690.83
    The “Kept” column is the result of shrinkage towards the mean: weight = P / (P + 6), i.e. 0.54 for Aston Villa and 0.54 for Manchester City. The rest of the weight goes to the league average. This is what stops a lone 5-0 from producing an attack at 3.3 times the average — and hence a 95% probability.
  3. Home advantage (γ). Measured on the league itself: 1.42 goal scored on average by the host against 1.42 by the visitor, over the 52 fixtures present in each team's last 5 matches. Raw ratio 1.00; shrunk towards 1 (weight 0.44, on the log of the ratio) then capped at 1.25 → γ = 1.00. Shrinkage goes towards 1, i.e. no advantage at all: while the sample is small, the model does not assert a home advantage it cannot measure.
  4. Venue correction, specific to each team. Drawn from the home/away split: points per match at the venue concerned are compared to points per match over all fixtures, with stronger shrinkage (weight = P / (P + 8)) and a bound of ±12%.
    Aston Villa at home: 0.33 pts/match versus 1.14 overall over 3 matches → ×0.880
    Manchester City away: 3.00 pts/match versus 3.00 overall over 3 matches → ×1.000
  5. Expected goals. One side's attack is set against the other's defence. γ applies to the host only: applying it the other way round too would count the home advantage twice.
    λAston Villa = 1.45 × 0.83 × 0.83 × 1.00 × 0.880 = 0.89
    λManchester City = 1.45 × 1.47 × 1.04 × 1.000 = 2.23
  6. Poisson grid. Probability of every exact score from 0-0 to 8-8, assuming the two goal totals are independent, then adding up the cells: home win 13.6%, draw 18.7%, away win 67.7% — displayed rounded to whole numbers so that they add up to exactly 100. Most likely exact score in the grid: 0-2 (only 11.0%, which says enough about how unpredictable an exact score is).
Limits of this model — they are not anecdotal.
  • It only knows goals and a venue. Neither absences, suspensions, line-ups, fatigue, stakes, weather nor club context enter the calculation — while the other tabs of this page show that they matter.
  • The assumption that the two goal totals are independent is false in reality: it slightly underestimates tight scores, hence the draw.
  • γ is measured over a rolling window (each team's last 5 matches), not over the whole season.
  • The shrinkage constants (6, 60, 8) and the bounds are choices, not measurements. They were tuned to be cautious early in the season; they were not calibrated on a results history, as none is available here.
  • No after-the-fact evaluation has been made: at this stage, nobody knows whether this model is better or worse calibrated than another.
What other sources say
No external source has been collected for this match. That is the normal state: readings are taken by hand, and an empty box is better than an unverified figure.
This block shows probability estimates, not predictions, and carries no advisory value. The in-house estimate is the result of a formula applied to a small sample; the figures from external sources are reproduced as they were collected, without their method having been verified.

The full squad

The professional squad by position, captain marked with an armband.

Goalkeepers
  • Zion Suzuki
  • Marco Bizot
  • Owen Asemota
  • James Wright
Defenders
  • Matty Cash
  • Victor Lindelöf
  • Tyrone Mings
  • Ian Maatsen
  • Pau Torres
  • Modou Keba Cissé
  • Aaron Wan-Bissaka
  • Matteo Ruggeri
  • Triston Rowe
Midfielders
  • Ross Barkley
  • Lamare Bogarde
  • Emiliano Buendía
  • Leon Goretzka
  • George Hemmings
  • João Gomes
  • Boubacar Kamara
  • Johan Manzambi
  • John McGinnC
  • Amadou Onana
Forwards
  • Tammy Abraham
  • Alysson Edward
  • Leon Bailey
  • Bradley Burrowes
  • Alejandro Garnacho
  • Nicolas Jackson
  • Luka Lynch
  • Brian Madjo
  • Ollie Watkins
Squad last verified on 31 Aug 2026 — source: Squad reconstructed from the worldfootball.net squad table (https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/te151/aston-villa/squad/, consulted on 31/08/2026), cross-checked with the same site's transfers page (https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/te151/aston-villa/transfers/, consulted on 31/08/2026), which confirms the arrivals of Nicolas Jackson, Leon Goretzka, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alejandro Garnacho, João Gomes and Johan Manzambi as well as the departures of Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne — consistent absence of Emiliano Martínez, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne from the squad table. Additional cross-check via the Sky Sports team sheet for Brighton-Aston Villa on 23/08/2026 (https://www.skysports.com/football/brighton-and-hove-albion-vs-aston-villa/teams/559450), which confirms that Bizot, Cash, Lindelöf, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, João Gomes, McGinn, Barkley, Hemmings and Buendía were actually part of the squad. Uncertainties: Ollie Watkins remains listed in the table (at number 11, duplicated with Jackson) even though his transfer to Al-Hilal had not been finalised as of 31/08/2026 (Football365, 23/08/2026; Sky Sports, 24/08/2026) — he was not included in the squad on 23/08 according to ESPN. Another reading of the transfers page mentioned arrivals of Kosta Nedeljković and Evann Guessand, who could not be found in the squad table: in the absence of confirmation, they are not included. The academy/lesser-known players (Rowe, Hemmings, Bogarde, Edward, Burrowes, Lynch, Madjo, Cissé, Asemota, Wright) rest solely on this single source, not individually cross-checked. Captain confirmed by two sources: khelnow.com (list of Premier League captains 2026-27, consulted on 31/08/2026) and the armband worn by McGinn according to the Sky Sports team sheet of 23/08/2026..

What has been said recently

Chronological feed of verified information about the club.

rss17 Oct 2026
Villa's Manzambi shows Newcastle what they missed out on
Source: BBC Sport
rss15 Oct 2026
PSG pummel Manchester City while Villa and Liverpool hit six | Football Weekly Extra – video
Source: The Guardian — Football
rss15 Oct 2026
PSG pummel Manchester City while Villa and Liverpool hit six: Football Weekly Extra – podcast
Source: The Guardian — Football
rss17 Oct 2026
Thanks to Johan Manzambi, Aston Villa runs against Newcastle in the Premier League
Source: L'Équipe
rss17 Oct 2026
Manzambi heads Villa to victory at Newcastle
Source: BBC Sport
rss17 Oct 2026
Aston Villa’s rebuild bears fruits after Johan Manzambi winner against Newcastle
Source: The Independent — Football
Result3 Sep 2026
The table as it stood before matchday 3 puts Aston Villa 19th, with zero points, no goals scored and five conceded in two games: only Tottenham, exactly level, are doing as badly.
Source: Sky Sports
Club3 Sep 2026
Matchday 3 sends Aston Villa to Hull City on Saturday 5 September at 17:30, to a promoted side who themselves have six points from six.
Source: Football Web Pages
Institutional3 Sep 2026
According to the value analysis published by Sky Sports, Aston Villa are the best buyers of the English summer window: their signings are valued at £60m above the fees paid, notably Johan Manzambi bought for £47m against an estimated value of £74.8m and Leon Goretzka arriving on a free with a value of £13.8m.
Source: Sky Sports
Suspension3 Sep 2026
João Gomes is serving a suspension following a straight red card and is not expected back before mid-September, depriving Unai Emery of an anchor in midfield.
Source: SportsGambler
Transfers2 Sep 2026
Centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis, 24, described his move from Southampton, where he had played 34 Premier League games before the 2025 relegation: I am full of pride to have signed for a club like Aston Villa. He adds that he came to take a step up and says he is ready to learn.
Source: VAVEL
Transfers2 Sep 2026
Emiliano Martínez published a farewell message after seven years at the club and his move to Chelsea: this club became far more than a place where I played football, it became my home. He signs off with the phrase the supporters have taken up, once a Villan, always a Villan.
Source: VAVEL
Institutional2 Sep 2026
Sky Sports give Aston Villa 7 out of 10 for their summer window: six starters from the Europa League campaign left, the club had to work within the Premier League's financial rules and backed young profiles such as Ibrahim Mbaye while adding experience with Leon Goretzka.
Source: Sky Sports
Head coach1 Sep 2026
Speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat to Arsenal, Unai Emery refused to dramatise and said he could feel confident despite the result, before summing up what comes next with a repeated phrase: and now, work, work, work.
Source: Sky Sports
Club1 Sep 2026
Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki played his first minutes at Villa Park in the defeat to Arsenal. He acknowledged he could have done better on the goal conceded and presented his distribution as his strength: it is something I regard as a strength, I want to create chances with my feet.
Source: VAVEL
Transfers1 Sep 2026
The club closed deadline day with the arrival of Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain for £47m and that of defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, signed from Southampton for £30m.
Source: Sky Sports
News last verified on 18 Oct 2026. Sources: sports press (L'Équipe, Le Parisien, Foot Mercato, regional press…) and official club websites — see the link on each item.
Editorial content (playing style, mood, absences, external prediction sources) last verified on 3 Sep 2026. The standings/form data above are refreshed automatically — as is the 1/X/2 estimate, recomputed on every view.