Few football fans would have expected Aston Villa to be in the Premier League title race at the start of December.
Yet, Unai Emery’s team is just two points off league leaders Arsenal ahead of round No. 14.
FOUR EUROPEAN WINS IN A ROW pic.twitter.com/Kd0mf9LBqe— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 30, 2023
FOUR EUROPEAN WINS IN A ROW pic.twitter.com/Kd0mf9LBqe
The Villains could go top of the Premier League standings with a win and results elsewhere going their way.
They will start the weekend in fourth place and can continue their assault on the top four.
However, winning away against a resurgent Bournemought won’t be an easy task for the Villains.
Andoni Iraola has got Bournemouth playing good football, and they are getting results.
The Cherries may be in 16th place ahead of Aston Villa’s arrival, but they are showing plenty of upward mobility currently.
Bournemouth are on a two-game winning streak thanks to victories over Newcastle United and Sheffield United.
Bournemouth scored five goals and conceded just once in their last two games. Sunday’s match at Dean Court won’t be a walkover for Aston Villa. Indeed, this will be a difficult game for the Birmingham-based club.
Recent history is on Bournemouth’s side. Last season, the Cherries won 2-0 against Aston Villa at Dean Court.
However, Villa returned the favour, winning 3-0 at Villa Park later in the campaign.
Bournemouth took eight points from their seven home matches this season, scoring six goals and conceding 10 times.
Despite a poor return on points at home, Bournemouth won their last two matches at Dean Court, defeating Burnley 2-1 and Newcastle 2-0.
Aston Villa are fresh off a 2-1 win over Legia Warsaw on Thursday night in the Conference League.
The win came on the heels of back-to-back Premier League victories over Fulham and Tottenham.
Aston Villa are a strong home team. They took 18 points at Villa Park this season, which is currently joint-best.
However, away from home, the team took 10 points from seven games, suffering three defeats.
If there is a weakness in Aston Villa’s unlikely title challenge, it is their away form. On the road, Villa conceded 13 times and scored eight goals. Emery needs the attack to improve away from Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins has seven Premier League goals. Four of Watkins’ goals this season came away from Villa Park. He is scoring both at home and on the road, which could give Aston Villa the upper hand on Sunday.
Although Bournemouth won this fixture last term, Aston Villa should come out on top with a 2-1 win. Watkins could be the star man for the Villains.