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11 hours ago
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Guardian writers’ predicted position: 7th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 4th
Prospects
The image of John McGinn hoisting aloft the Europa League trophy in Istanbul as the confetti cannons fired is crystallised in the minds of Aston Villa supporters, but less than three months on, plenty has changed since one of the club’s greatest days. Three major players from the starting lineup – Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne, two of whom scored – have exited, and another may follow if Arsenal make a serious play for the dependable Ezri Konsa.
A key trio of coaches have also left – the set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, assistant manager Pako Ayestarán and the influential individual coach, Antonio Rodríguez Saravia – but most importantly the common denominator and driver of Villa’s incredible rebirth remains in post. It is a good job Unai Emery enjoys a challenge. It has been a typically busy summer, with pre-season trips to Portugal, Indonesia and Hong Kong, plus the Super Cup against Paris St-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday and a friendly trip to Mönchengladbach to follow, but there is work to do if Emery is to repeat the feat of fourth place and break new ground, again, by securing Champions League qualification for successive campaigns.
After a terrible start, Villa edged over the line last season, but the landscape is unlikely to be so forgiving this time. Nobody played more minutes for Villa than Rogers and it was no surprise Villa’s alarming drop in form around spring coincided with Tielemans being injured. Villa need their replacements to work. João Gomes, a £38m buy from Wolves, looks a smart fit; the tigerish Brazil midfielder made the third-highest number of tackles in the division last season (107) and was fourth on the list for ball recoveries (194). Johan Manzambi is one of the game’s most exciting young talents, while Emery believes he can rehabilitate Alejandro Garnacho, who has joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have amassed more Premier League points in the three-and-a-half years since Emery arrived, and while it would be foolish to write him off, every season his task seems to get that bit harder. He can still call on a core cast of reliable performers in Konsa, McGinn, Matty Cash, Emiliano Martínez and Ollie Watkins, while Boubacar Kamara’s return from injury this month is a timely boost. But it is hard not to wonder whether Villa have peaked.
Off-field picture
The response of a senior executive was telling when asked if qualifying for the Champions League makes life easier when it comes to meeting the financial rules. “Not easier but less difficult,” came the reply. Villa have since signed a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda, worth about £20m per season, though Amnesty International warns Rwanda “is using sportswashing to deflect attention from its terrible human rights record”. Meanwhile, Villa Park’s makeover continues with the North Stand closed for the season, the stadium’s capacity falling to 37,000 during its redevelopment. The new-look stand will have a steel roof, modern facade and accommodate more than 12,000 fans - bringing the overall capacity past 50,000 supporters - and will be ready for 2027-28 and Euro 2028.
Owner-fan relationship
Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will always be adored for putting Villa firmly back on the map, elevating them to become major Premier League players and, ultimately, as the people who gave Emery the keys to transform the club. Both joined the on-field celebrations in Istanbul in May, Sawiris with a claret-and-blue scarf around his neck. Michael Angelakis, chair of investment company Atairos and chief executive of Comcast, acquired a minority stake in 2023. The story goes that Sawiris, Egypt’s richest man, handed Emery a blank sheet of paper and asked him to design his vision when meeting the Basque for the first time in Madrid, at the home of the agent Jorge Mendes.
The manager
“He lives like a monk in a tracksuit,” was how Villa’s director of football operations and Emery’s right-hand man, Damian Vidagany, described the 54-year-old manager’s work ethic in the book Waking The Giant. During the season it is not unusual for Emery, who has an apartment in Birmingham city centre, to spend 12 hours a day at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath base, sometimes analysing footage on his laptop while on the exercise bike or treadmill, long after his players have gone. Emery’s squad have grown accustomed to long meetings, sometimes twice a day – one was held less than 12 hours after cementing their place in the Champions League after beating Liverpool in May, in preparation for Emery to clinch a record fifth Europa League title of his coaching career.
Star signing
There were a few nerves at Villa as Manzambi illuminated Switzerland’s World Cup, concerns his price could balloon or that bigger fish may blow them out of the water. But Villa had done their homework and got a longstanding target over the line for a club-record £51m amid interest from rivals. Manzambi was on Villa’s radar long before he impressed against them for Freiburg in the Europa League final. Murat Yakin, the Switzerland head coach, described Manzambi as “a street footballer”, saying the 20-year-old’s humility and quality means he is capable of playing across the pitch. He played regularly as a No 8 in the Bundesliga and Emery is an admirer of his versatility.
Stat attack
Aston Villa scored 15 goals from outside the box last season. Seven teams had recorded more in one of the previous 17 Premier League campaigns, but no side in that period bettered their 8.4% shot conversion rate. As only 3.6% of attempts from this range are converted on average, Villa’s 2025-26 tally feels impossible to repeat.
Set for a breakthrough
It will be interesting to see if the 17-year-old Brian Madjo, son of former Plymouth and Shrewsbury forward Guy, can build on his encouraging pre-season form. Emery and his coaches are big fans of Madjo, a physical striker born in Enfield but raised in Luxembourg, so no wonder this month Villa welcomed the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) clearing Madjo to feature after Fifa rules prohibited him from playing after joining from Metz in a £10m deal in January. “English player allowed to play in England #freemadjo,” McGinn posted on social media. It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Madjo: he made his Ligue 1 debut last August aged 16, before scoring on debut for England Under-17s a few weeks later. Four goals in pre-season has led to a sense that his first competitive minutes for Villa are close.
World Cup impact
Amadou Onana, whose Villa career has been stop-start owing to injury, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Belgium’s last-16 win over the USA. Manzambi enjoyed a fine World Cup, even if his tournament also ended with a knee injury, ruling him out of Switzerland’s last 16 and quarter-final matches and delaying his Villa debut. Martínez made it to another final with Argentina. Konsa started every game for England before the semi-final against Argentina: his 72nd-minute introduction from the bench for Anthony Gordon widely pinpointed as a negative change that invited pressure.
