With the international break now upon us, Aston Villa go into the temporary respite in a positive place as we now regroup and recharge ahead of a key run.
Our point at Wolves on Sunday leaves us in fifth spot in the Premier League table, with five wins, one draw and two defeats after eight games, with a +7 goal difference.
READ MORE: Key talking points as Villa held to draw in scrappy Wolves clash
Further, following our win over Zrinjski last week, we sit level on three points with all three other teams in Group E of the Europa Conference League, with everything still to play for ahead of a double bill against AZ Alkmaar.
While our exit from the Carabao Cup was undoubtedly a major disappointment, looking back at what we’ve done so far this season, there is a lot to be positive about as we reflect on our progress thus far.
Particularly when we consider the adversity we’ve faced with injuries, with long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia sidelined while the likes of Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey are still working their way back, we’ve essentially been operating without four major pieces of our starting XI up until now.
Our new signings have largely been positive, with Moussa Diaby, Nicolo Zaniolo and Pau Torres making a positive impression, albeit there is still work to do for Youri Tielemans to find his best form while Clement Lenglet has looked a reliable option in limited playing time.
Looking back on the previous month, Villa boss Unai Emery is pleased with where we’re at, and he’ll undoubtedly work relentlessly over the break now to continue to improve his squad and be as prepared as possible to hit the ground running when everyone returns.
“I’m very happy with the month we’ve had because I think we’ve progressed,” he said after the Wolves game, as per VillaTV. “We worked in the way we were doing but we can’t always take three points.
“We have to be really happy with the points we have and how we are progressing as a team, trying to build a team.”
There are still obstacles to overcome, though. Whether it’s being more effective and efficient when trying to break teams down who are happy to sit in a low block and not press and subsequently fall into our traps, or getting more out of those coming into the side when Emery opts to rotate, we’re still lacking in certain areas.
Nevertheless, we’ll face West Ham Utd, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest and Fulham in our next four league outings, and while Emery certainly won’t allow for complacency to set in, nor will the players take the challenges lightly, we have an opportunity to build on our impressive recent form and solidify our place in or around the top four.
Having had a chance now to adapt and adjust to the Thursday-Sunday schedule, we’ll hopefully go into those meetings with AZ Alkmaar in good shape, and they could prove to be decisive in our quest to advance beyond the group and into the knockout stage.
By then, Villa and Emery will hope to have Moreno back at least, while Tim Iroegbunam is set to stake his claim for a role after returning from an injury setback of his own. There was a double boost with both Diaby and Boubacar Kamara featuring on Sunday after passing late fitness tests to rule out concern over lengthy spells out, but Ramsey isn’t expected back until the end of November at the earliest.
We’ll hopefully now build on the foundation that has been set though, with Emery no doubt continuing to demand more from his players to set the standard higher and continue to move towards achieving our objectives for this year.
