Will Villa fare better after European fixtures this season?
While it is important to pick out local derbies and great away days, the reality of modern football is figuring out who you will be playing after European games in the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures.Upon the release of the schedule on Wednesday, one Villa supporter told us that this season's selections "look winnable".If that happens, it will be welcome relief after Unai Emery's side struggled for points after Champions League group stage games in 2024-25.In fact, they picked up just one win from the eight games, leaving them with a win percentage of just 12.5%.However, there were difficult opponents in those run of games, including away at eventual champions Liverpool and top-five chasing Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.This season, it is six home games and three matches against teams that finished last term in the bottom half as well as a game with promoted Burnley.Sure, they will now have to contend with a Thursday-Sunday schedule, which some teams have struggled with in the past, but Villa had no issue with that two years ago when they qualified from the Champions League.And, given the nature of their post-Europe opponents, they can perhaps take further comfort from hopefully being fresher when facing the teams they expect to be competing with for Champions League spots again.
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