Villa 'increasingly looking like side ready to take seat at reshuffled top table'
[BBC] [Getty Images] Aston Villa's recent wobble, which reached its height with three consecutive league defeats a month ago, is firmly in the rear view mirror. Form has been restored, with recent performances against Bologna and Sunderland among the best of the season, although a dramatic final 10 minutes against the Black Cats at Villa Park left this narrative hanging on the thinnest of threads. At 3-1 up and after some impressively worked goals against a robust, well-organised Sunderland side, the sense took hold that Villa genuinely had the strength and purpose to win the Europa League and see out the league campaign inside the top four.
The self-sabotage of those closing minutes complicated that confident outlook, but they will take comfort from their ability to win out in the end. It is a trait they may well need to lean on in the Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest and beyond. With Villa's immediate ambitions increasingly in sight, you can be forgiven for glancing at the potentially transformative bigger picture forming around them.
Because while they chase silverware and a Champions League place, the Premier League landscape is shifting. Spurs are facing the bleak reality of relegation. Chelsea's route back to the Champions League looks increasingly uncertain, unless a specific chain of events falls into place: they finish sixth, Villa finish fifth and Villa do them a favour by winning the Europa League to open an additional qualification spot.
Newcastle, once considered the club most likely to break up the established order alongside Villa, have slumped badly from that expectation this season. A genuine vacancy is opening up, as structural change to the much-mooted Premier League big six seems to be inevitable. If they meet their objectives this season, then Villa are increasingly looking like the side ready to take a seat at the reshuffled top table.
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