Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa slipped out of the top half of the Premier League following three consecutive one-goal margin defeats, the most recent of which came away to local rivals Wolves (2-1).
As a consequence, they begin this round closer to the relegation zone than the European spots in terms of points, meaning their most realistic goal for the remainder of the season is now to finish inside the top ten for the first time in eight Premier League campaigns.
Players to watch: Villa’s Ollie Watkins has now scored in back-to-back appearances for club or country ten times since the beginning of 2020, but only once did he score in three straight games (Mar-Apr 2021).
Meanwhile, six of Harry Kane’s last seven top flight goalscoring appearances have been on the road, after he doubled Tottenham’s lead in their previous away trip. Hot streak? Villa has completed 40 matches in all competitions without a 0-0 draw.
