In addition, after last week’s victory over Zrinjski, we are now tied with the other three teams in Group E of the Europa Conference League on three points, with one game remaining against AZ Alkmaar.
There is a lot to be optimistic about when we look back on what we’ve accomplished this season, even though our elimination from the Carabao Cup was definitely a major disappointment.
We’ve practically been playing without four key members of our starting XI due to injuries, especially considering that Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings have been out for an extended period of time while Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey are still recovering.
The most of our new additions have been successful, with Moussa Diaby, Nicolo Zaniolo, and Pau Torres standing out. However, Youri Tielemans still has to reach his best form, and Clement Lenglet has shown himself to be a trustworthy alternative in limited playing time.
Looking back on the past month, Villa manager Unai Emery is happy with where we’ve come, and he’ll definitely work tirelessly over the break to keep improving his team and be as ready as he can be to start playing when everyone returns.
He told VillaTV after the Wolves game, “I’m very happy with the month we’ve had because I think we’ve progressed.” “We put forth the effort that we could, but we can’t always get three points.
We must be really pleased with our current standing in terms of points and team development.
But there are still challenges to overcome. We still have room for improvement, whether it’s being more effective and efficient when attempting to break down teams that are content to stay in a low block and not press and then fall into our traps, or getting more from players coming into the side when Emery chooses to rotate.
Nevertheless, we have a chance to build on our strong recent form and firmly establish our position in or near the top four as we face West Ham United, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Fulham in our next four league matches. Emery won’t tolerate complacency to set in, and neither will the players treat the challenges lightly.
We should be in good form going into those matches against AZ Alkmaar now that we’ve had some time to adapt and get used to the Thursday-Sunday schedule; they could end up being crucial in our attempt to advance through the group stage and into the knockout tournament.
When that time comes, Villa and Emery will be hoping at least to have Moreno back, and Tim Iroegbunam will be ready to stake his claim after recovering from an injury setback of his own. Diaby and Boubacar Kamara playing on Sunday after clearing late fitness tests to allay concerns about extended absences was a big boost, although Ramsey isn’t anticipated to return until the very end of November at the earliest.
With Emery undoubtedly continuing to expect more from his players to raise the bar higher and continue to work toward realizing our goals for this year, we’ll ideally now build on the foundation that has already been laid.
