Unai Emery: Aston Villa boss enduring toughest spell since being appointed to the role ahead of daunting Chelsea clash

Three points off the top four and just one defeat in the Champions League.

On the face of things, alarm bells should not be ringing at Villa Park.

However, these are the lofty standards Unai Emery has instilled at the club since he succeeded Steven Gerrard in 2022 and began the club’s meteoric rise from relegation candidates, to competing with Europe’s elite.

The Villa boss has now gone seven games without a win across all competitions, the longest run of his tenure in the Second City, and will now be tasked with addressing the rut away at Chelsea, live on Sky Sports, this Sunday.

Here, we takes a look at Villa’s current situation and the possible factors contributing to their recent struggles.

Injury problems

“We don’t want to use and speak about some excuses because injuries are happening – we have to be competitive, always.”

Strong words from Emery, who has insisted on a ‘no excuse’ culture since returning to England. Although, injuries have played their part in this current dip in form.

Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Boubacar Kamara all returned but aside from the last name on the list, they have looked slightly off the pace when given opportunities. Which is to be expected given the time they spent on the sidelines.

Marquee summer signing Amadou Onana is another notable absentee after missing games against Crystal Palace, Manchester United and now Juventus.

Villa are yet to win a game without the Belgium international in the starting line-up.

Homegrown talent Jacob Ramsey missed large chunks of last season and cut a frustrated figure after being forced off during the 2-0 loss to Liverpool.

Without his ball carrying abilities and the threat he poses in the box, Villa are missing another vital prong to their attack.

These are not long-term setbacks but are individual knocks that have compounded and meant Emery has been forced into making regular changes to his starting 11 – and thus disrupting the flow of his team.

Lopsided left

Another injury which has hindered the cohesiveness of the team in more ways than one is that of Matty Cash.

In his absence, Villa have either shifted Konsa to the role of right-back or trialled other players, such as Lamare Bogarde and Kosta Nedeljkovic, in the role.

Cash’s injury problems have caused him to miss nine games and when taken this into account, as well as the drop in form for Leon Bailey, and Moussa Diaby’s sale to the Saudi Pro League, you can see why production from the right-wing has plummeted.

39 per cent of Villa’s attacks stem from the opposite flank and they have seen a four per cent drop in their usage of the right-side compared to last season.

Seven different combinations of players being used on this side during the win-less run has not helped, either.

What was once a strength for Villa, given Bailey’s output of 12 goals and 13 assists across all competitions last season, has now become a clear weak-link.

Defensive woes

Only five teams have conceded more goals than Villa in the Premier League – and four of those sides are below 15th in the table.

It’s a level of defensive insecurity that has not often been associated with Villa since Emery was appointed to the role.

The late equaliser against Bournemouth, collapsing against Tottenham and looking vulnerable to counter-attacks from Crystal Palace every-time they flooded forward. Teams are aware of how Villa defend and have become more accustomed to working around it.

So much so that Emi Martinez, the winner of back-to-back Yashin Trophies, now has the fourth lowest save percentage in the league at 61 per cent.

This is not a question of his ability – as his resumé speaks for itself – but instead highlights the vulnerability of this Villa defence.

Although, they are not showing the same problems in Europe after conceding just one goal in their opening five fixtures. Which only adds to the headache for Emery and his staff.

Form, confidence and momentum play also major role in football – as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side have also discovered – and Villa seem to be lacking all of them currently.