Aston Villa have got off to one of the best-ever starts to a Premier League campaign, and they go into the second half of the campaign with strong hopes of finishing in the top four at the end of the season.
BREAKING: Unai Emery has been named the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month for April! 👔🏆 pic.twitter.com/y0UYgE2WLC
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 12, 2023
A lot of credit must go to Villa manager Unai Emery for the job he has done in 2023. The Spaniard has been the mastermind behind their success in the league and in Europe. The former Arsenal and Sevilla boss has found a home in the Midlands, and he will be hoping this is only the start of a successful journey.
Villa Have Had Results Against the Big Teams
December was an excellent month for Villa as they had wins over defending champion Manchester City, high-flyers Arsenal and Brentford, coming from a goal down to prevail 2-1 in the latter. Those placing a football bet on Emery’s side can now get odds of 25/1 on them winning the title, much shorter odds than they were back in August.
Villa are likely to be one of the prominent football tips for today for games in the second half of the season. They have shown they are unlikely to fade away following their excellent start, and given how well they are playing at Villa Park, visiting teams have a tough task on their hands against them.
One of the keys to Villa’s success so far this season has been the number of goals they have scored. After 19 games in the campaign, they had scored 40 goals, the second highest in the league through that period, with only Manchester City scoring more with 43 goals.
Emery Knows All About Glory in Europe
As well as being in contention in the Premier League this season, Villa are also considered one of the leading contenders to win the 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League. They have advanced through to the last 16 of the competition after finishing top of Group E with 16 points. The English club finished ahead of Legia Warsaw, AZ Alkmaar and Zrinjski Mostar respectively in the standings.
Emery is bidding for his fifth trophy in Europe this season. He won the UEFA Europa League in three straight years with Sevilla between 2013 and 2015. More recently, he lifted the same trophy with Villarreal in 2021, beating Manchester United in the final in Gdansk.
Unai Emery currently has Aston Villa in a Europa League spot.
Every Villa fan is dreaming of this next season 💭 pic.twitter.com/FGgUQDv16n
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 25, 2023
The UEFA Europa Conference League is the newest competition in Europe as it was only inaugurated in 2021. Roma were the first winners in 2022, while West Ham were successful in 2023, beating Italian side Fiorentina in the final. Villa will be hoping they can replicate what the Hammers were able to achieve. The last time the Midlands club won a major European competition was in 1982 when they landed the European Cup.
Emery will know there is a long way to go in the season but if his team continue to pick up points at the rate they are doing, they should be challenging for one of the Champions League places in May at the very least.
