Aston Villa winning the Premier League would not have the seismic impact of Leicester City’s triumph in 2016 but it would be a stunning shake-up of the established order.
Unai Emery’s side won their ninth game in succession when they came from behind to win at West Ham United, leaving them third and just three points behind leaders Arsenal.
Villa’s surge of form is all the more remarkable after a poor start in which they took six attempts to win their first league game before finally securing a home victory over Fulham.
If Villa did win their first title since 1981, it would still be a huge shock given the expected three-way fight between champions Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, but they must be part of the conversation on current form.
I tipped Villa to finish fifth this season, a prediction based on Emery’s pedigree and past form. He took them into the Champions League last season, then only missed out on a place in this season’s tournament after losing at Manchester United on the final day of 2024-25.
Emery has the magic trick of making good players better. Morgan Rogers, as he proved with two goals at West Ham, is one of the league’s outstanding players, while he kept faith with England striker Ollie Watkins through a barren spell and back to form.
Villa still remain outsiders, but Emery has made a career out of defying the odds so it would be dangerous to dismiss him doing the same again.
