Aston Villa: How Unai Emery’s side went from battling in bottom three to being back in Champions League race | Football News

After a dismal start to the season, Aston Villa are back on track and firmly in the race for Champions League football.

The start to the 2025/26 campaign was bleak. Fresh off the disappointment of the final day of last season, when they missed out on Europe’s elite competition following a controversial 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford, Villa stumbled out of the gates.

They failed to score a goal throughout August and even when they did eventually get the ball in the net, travelling fans had little to celebrate as they ventured back from London following a loss on penalties to Brentford in the Carabao Cup.

An unconvincing first win against Bologna in the Europa League would soon follow but since then, Unai Emery’s side have slowly put the pieces back together. Although they remain some way off their previous levels, progress is being made.

Sunday 23rd November 1:00pm


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From battling in the bottom three, Villa have risen above Liverpool and Manchester United to sit just one point off the top four.

They face Leeds, live on Super Sunday, in their next fixture and ahead of that meeting, Sky Sports takes a look at the factors that have contributed to this resurgence.

Buendia’s back!

Out from the shadows and into the limelight. Buendia’s time in the Second City looked all but over after securing a loan move to Bayer Leverkusen in January but after featuring in pre-season, Villa’s pocket rocket has worked his way back into Emery’s plans and is now a key cog in the system.

He curled in the goal of the month in October to beat Tottenham and staked his claim for back-to-back awards with his free-kick against Bournemouth. It has become clear Buendia doesn’t just have a role to play but is now a player Emery can rely on to make the difference.

The Argentina playmaker, who earned a recall to the national team in the recent international break, has been involved in five goals in his last five Premier League appearances, averaging a goal involvement every 39 minutes despite only starting twice.

That output has led to Villa securing nine points, which is the difference between their current spot in sixth and 19th in the table.

Building bridges with Martinez

A compatriot of Buendia, Emiliano Martinez’s role in the resurgence has been one of building bridges following a turbulent summer.

Sky Sports News reported Martinez wanted to join Manchester United in August, leading to his omission from the match-day squad for the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace the day before Deadline Day, but a move failed to materialise.

The 33-year-old has since been reintegrated into the starting line-up, but after being stripped of the vice-captaincy by Emery and his relationship with the fanbase becoming fragile, there was still work to be done.

A trademark penalty save against Bournemouth to keep his fourth clean sheet of the season, which included a tight 1-0 win against Manchester City, certainly helped.

In games Villa have won or drawn in the league this season, Martinez has made a total of 17 saves.

It’s a far cry from the cult-hero status he previously held at the club but having a fully-focused goalkeeper of Martinez’s quality has been key to Villa rising up the table.

Cash’s class – at both ends of the pitch

Clean sheets and resilient defensive displays are obviously a collective effort – but one member of the back four has exceeded all expectations this season.

While the goals against Sunderland and Man City will receive many of the plaudits – as well as the sublime pass in the build-up to Buendia’s goal against Spurs – Matty Cash’s contributions in defence cannot go unnoticed.

The right-back has stepped up when needed and now has a new deal running until 2029 to reflect his importance in the squad.

Cash leads the team in tackles, blocks and interceptions, and is second only to Ezri Konsa for clearances. This has helped him convince Emery of his worth, starting all but two of Villa’s games across all competitions.

Cash, or the ‘Polish Cafu’ as fans like to refer to him, is now one of, if not the, first names on the teamsheet.

The remaining pieces of Emery’s puzzle

A 2-0 defeat to a struggling Liverpool at Anfield was a stark reminder that there is still work to be done for Villa.

Despite the 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth before the international break, a performance reminiscent of seasons gone by, Villa are still struggling in attack.

They rank in the Premier League’s bottom three for big chances created (10) and expected goals (xG). Leeds have almost doubled the former figure (18) but it is the latter statistic that will be most concerning for Emery.

Villa have scored a total of 13 goals from an xG of just 9.4. Although Cash’s long-range strike at the Stadium of Light and Buendia’s free-kick are easy on the eye, they are difficult to replicate consistently.

The stuttering supply line has caused Ollie Watkins to struggle.

Watkins, who has been managing an injury and was left out of the most recent England squad, has just one goal in 11 appearances.

But Watkins had managed just four shots on target and is underperforming his xG by 1.3, hinting at a lack of chances rather than missed opportunities.

Getting the 29-year-old, who has reached double figures in each of his previous seasons in the Premier League, firing could be the final piece to the puzzle.

Confidence is coming for Villa – the win against the Cherries showed that. The chances and goals for Watkins – and others in the squad, such as Donyell Malen and Morgan Rogers – should follow suit.

Watch Leeds vs Aston Villa live on Sky Sports Premier League from 12.30pm on Sunday. Kick-off 2pm.