Just like Newcastle last season, Aston Villa is the hit of the Premier League this year. The Villains are third on the table after defeating the current England and European champion 1-0 in Birmingham. The way Unai Emery and his men defeated the Citizens was particularly impressive and they will face another home game, this time against league leaders Arsenal. Either it’s because the Gunners are the leaders at the moment or because it’s his former club, the Spaniard proclaimed the North Londoners Villa’s toughest challenge yet.Aston Villa’s home Premier League recordIf we get a draw id be happy pic.twitter.com/4jx7dgaAmg— Danny (@The_GFP) December 7, 2023 “We played very well against Manchester City but we must stay at this level. The match before was Bournemouth and we were very close to losing (Ollie Watkins’ late header earned a 2-2 draw). We are confident at home and are feeling strong at Villa Park, but this is really the biggest challenge we are going to face yet. We are playing the best team of this season in the Premier League” said Emery.Emery: There are seven teams who are contenders more than usThe Spaniard is right about his team playing confidently at home since the Villians are on a roll with 14 consecutive home wins, which is a great record and with another one today, they will climb to the fourth place on the all-time list, equaling Manchester City’s 2023 record. The current leaders are Liverpool (2019/20) with 24. More and more people are talking about Villa as a ‘title contender’, and Emery is not gonna confirm that, but he urges the fans to dream about it.“We have to dream always. I am dreaming and sometimes my dreams are very important for me as it’s an aspiration to do my best. All praise now is important for us but it cannot distract us in our objectives. We can wait until matchday 30 or 32 and if we are in the top four in that moment, we can then think, “Maybe”. We will then be contenders to be there. We have to be focused” says the Spaniard.Villa surpass City at the table after a well deserved winIt’s not bad enough that Arsenal has to travel to Birmingham to face in-form Aston Villa, but they will be without their coach Mikel Arteta, who got a touchline ban for leaving his technical area in order to celebrate the 97th-minute Declan Rice’s winner against Luton. He got a yellow card, his third one and received an automatic ban. The Spaniard thinks he is singled out for punishment more than other managers as he faces another touchline ban for calling the match officials ‘a disgrace’ after a 1-0 loss in Newcastle.“We are allowed to celebrate but we have a boundary. Maybe we have to extend it. We just need a very strong rope, or we don’t move. But it means we don’t move — all of us. If I was given the opportunity to celebrate, no I wouldn’t stop. I would like to be with my players because we work closely every single day to win the games and when you get those moments in sport, you should be able to do that. I don’t know how to stop it. It was a really emotional moment with everybody bouncing around and you lose sense of where you are and the space you have to be in. It was unfortunate as now I cannot be next to my team on the touchline” said Arteta.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 16Saturday15.30: (6.75) Crystal Palace (4.30) Liverpool (1.55)18.00: (4.60) Sheffield Utd (3.60) Brentford (1.80)18.00: (1.50) Brighton (4.30) Burnley (6.50)18.00: (1.55) Man.Utd. (4.10) Bournemouth (6.00)18.00: (1.90) Wolverhampton (3.60) Nott.Forest (4.50)20.30: (3.45) Aston Villa (3.50) Arsenal (2.20)Sunday17.00: (14.0) Luton (8.00) Man.City (1.20)17.00: (3.20) Everton (3.40) Chelsea (2.25)17.00: (2.45) Fulham (3.50) West Ham (3.05)19.30: (2.20) Tottenham (3.60) Newcastle (3.40)***odds are subject to change**
