Aston Villa

Who are Aston Villa?

Aston Villa Football Club, simply known as Aston Villa, is an English professional football club that competes in the Premier League.

Aston Villa, nicknamed ”Lions” was founded on 21 November 1874 and play their home matches at the Villa Park, which has a seating capacity of 42,749.

In summer 2016, Chinese businessman Tony Xia bought Aston Villa for £76m. Ex-Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo was appointed as the Lions’ new coach but was sacked after a terrible start to the campaign.

Di Matteo was replaced by ex-Birmingham boss Steve Bruce. Steve led Aston Villa to finish 4th in the 17/18 campaign but lost in the 2018 EFL Championship play-off final match to Fulham.

In October 2018, Steve was sacked after winning just once in a nine game stretch. Bruce was replaced by Brentford coach Dean Smith, with John Terry and Richard O’Kelly as his assistants.

Under Dean, displays and results improved, with the Lions finishing 5th and reaching the playoffs again, helped on by a club-record ten league match winning streak.

Aston Villa reached the 2019 EFL Championship play-off final and defeated Derby County 2–1 to gain promotion back to the PL after a 3-year absence.

The Lions’ arch-rivals are Birmingham City, with matches between the two sides known as the Second City Derby.

At the end of the 2020–21 campaign, the Lions had spent 107 years in the top division of English football. The only team to have spent longer in the top division are Everton, with 118 years.

What are Aston Villa’s predictions for next season?

Aston Villa had an excellent season as they finished the Premier League in 11th place. Jack Grealish, who had an impressive season, left the club and joined Man City with a British record fee.

The Lions already signed Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen, Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City, Axel Tuanzebe from Man United, Ashley Young from Inter Milan and Danny Ings from Southampton during this summer transfer window.

Dean Smith has an impressive squad and is ready to fight for the place in the top six. Aston Villa kick off the Premier League campaign at Villa Park with Watford on August 14.

2021-22 Premier League Odds

Manchester City -139
Chelsea +500
Liverpool +500
Manchester United +650
Leicester +4000
Tottenham +4000
Arsenal +8000
Everton +10000
Aston Villa +15000
Leeds +15000
West Ham +15000
Brighton +20000
Wolves +20000
Newcastle +30000
Southampton +30000
Burnley +50000
Crystal Palace +50000
Norwich +100000
Watford +100000