Analysis: Aston Villa creating more believers as winning streak continues
Right now the question is not so much whether Villa are in the Premier League title race but who can halt their charge?
Before someone actually manages the latter, the former is rendered moot.
Arsenal, on Tuesday night, will be the latest to attempt derailing the express train which is Unai Emery’s team as they target a club record 12th consecutive win.
The Gunners, top of the table but still only three points above Villa, will head into the match as favourites, their case strengthened by the fact their visitors will be missing two key men in the shape of Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash through suspension.
But then you would have said the same about Chelsea on Saturday evening and Villa, once again, refused to follow the popular narrative.
For nearly an hour at Stamford Bridge, things were panning out precisely as many had predicted.
Villa, already on their longest winning streak as a top-flight club since 1914, were surely going to eventually drop points? A Chelsea team playing on home turf, desperate to cut into their own deficit to the top-three appeared likely opponents to halt them.
Joao Pedro duly put the dominant home side into the lead and while Villa were dogged, in truth they were barely second best. You could almost hear the collective crack of sceptical knuckles preparing to type “told you so” at the final whistle.
