UEFA Europa Conference League - Alkmaar, Legia and Zrinjski

[paul_e]

We still have to play the three teams between us and 6th place.
We also have to play Newcastle and Tottenham.

If we can take 11+ points from those (i.e. avoid any defeats and get 3 wins) then we'll be favourites for 6th, in my opinion.

[Eckybloke]

It feels to me like the third or fourth game of the 10 game Championship run…chuffed to bits just now, you want it to continue, it (Europe this time/playoffs then) seems tantalisingly close…but it’s hard to be like non-Villa fans and not fear the worst.
😁😁

[paul_e]

It feels to me like the third or fourth game of the 10 game Championship run…chuffed to bits just now, you want it to continue, it (Europe this time/playoffs then) seems tantalisingly close…but it’s hard to be like non-Villa fans and not fear the worst.
😁😁

I agree, the momentum is with us and it doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart any time soon. The whole squad just seem confident and comfortable with what they're being asked to do, which means we're always going to be a threat.

[SoccerHQ]

This feels a lot like our promotion season now.

From late Feb/early March we've found a really solid formula back to front.

All defenders in form and prolific striker, yep that's a decent combination whatever the league.

I said pre kick off beat Leicester and Forest and we'd be right up there. We'll be top 6 if we do that I think so challenge is there and we're good enough to do it currently.

60 points should be the target now and if we can achieve that before final day and Brighton at home then things will become very exciting.

[paul_e]

I agree but it feels wrong to not mention the midfield which is, for me, in the top 3 in the country right now and means we have so much control in where teams play.

[SoccerHQ]

I agree but it feels wrong to not mention the midfield which is, for me, in the top 3 in the country right now and means we have so much control in where teams play.

McGinn is now exceeding the standards he was setting for most of 2019. It's great to see given how critical I've been of him for last 18 months.

Kamara is already a top 6 player comfortably (probably top 4) so we need to be hitting that range soon to keep him sweet.

Emery is perfect manager for Luiz at this stage of his career.

It's working very well. I presume Kamara was just taken off due to fatigue and being on a yellow rather than any reoccurrence of injury as we need him fit for the run in.

[TonyD]

Europe isn’t a pipe dream.
In our run in we don’t have to play Citeh or Arsenal.
ManU and Liverpool are the only true tough games.

[Risso]

Kamara needs to get some consistency going again. Whether it was the after effect of the injury I don’t know, but he was rubbish first half and looked to be on the way to another performance like Leicester.

[Matt C]

Seemed to struggle with the pace of the game in the first half, didn’t look like he was quite ready but Emery didn’t waste any time changing things around.

[olaftab]

Europe isn’t a pipe dream.
In our run in we don’t have to play Citeh or Arsenal.
ManU and Liverpool are the only true tough games.

I think it is. There are too many teams to overcome and we need perfection in remaining 10 and we need all of them to drop points. One is possible 3 is not.

[London Villan]

Top 7 could be european places. We’ve got to play brighton and brentford too. Won’t be easy, but game on.

[Meanwood Villa]

I looked at the run ins for us, Chelsea, Brighton, Brentford and Fulham after the last match. Fulham's is the easiest on paper but they are in a bit of a slump. Chelsea seem to be most obviously in a false position but their run in includes 7/10 games against teams currently above them. I keep expecting them to click into gear but maybe it won't happen this season. Brentford also have a marginally touger run in than us on paper, are only two points ahead of us and we still have to play them so overhauling them over a 10 game period doesn't seem too far fetched. The Toney situation is odd but it wouldn't surprise me if he isn't banned this season at all. Brighton have two games in hand on us but still have to play Arsenal and Citeh, which we don't. Again, we still have to play them and the gap is two points so it's not an insurmountable obstacle. I agree we need close to perfection on the run in ourselves and that starts with winning the next two which represent two of our easiest games on paper.

[Toronto Villa]

This is very much in our hands now. We play all of the teams directly in our path to a top 6 place. Nobody will look forward to facing us, home or away.

04/15 Newcastle (H)
04/22 Brentford (A)
04/25 Fulham (H)
05/13 Tottenham (H)
05/20 Liverpool (A)
05/28 Brighton (H)

But in order to really influence our chances we need to first beat Leicester and Forest. Do that and it’s really on.

[Nunkin1965]

If European football does happen because of our improvement, I think Emery is proving that players are now becoming comfortable with slotting into the systems and style we play. There's plenty of evidence of that now.
Which bodes well for the extra games Europa footy might bring.

[Pete3206]

Teams above us have games in hand. If we want 7th place, we absolutely have to take 6 points from the next 2 games. It's nice to have some excitement back.