Aston Villa

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It seems the answer was there all the time.

With Ollie Watkins not yet finding the form of recent seasons, Villa have turned to Jhon Duran for the final half hour of each of their first three Premier League games, and on two occasions he has produced what has turned out to be a decisive goal.

Moreover, he has shown himself to be the viable alternative to Watkins, more effectively channelling the energy and power only sometimes evident last season. Previously, Duran looked like he had the potential to become a serious Premier League player; now, suddenly, the elements seem to have fused together.

A few weeks ago, it was widely assumed that Duran would indeed be a Premier League player this season, but probably for Chelsea or West Ham. Apparently impatient to play a greater role more often, rather than having to wait for Watkins to fall over, Duran - it was understood - saw his future somewhere else.

It will be for Duran himself, one day, to tell us how he felt. There is no need, though; his performances in the early games of this season have said quite enough. Do they look to you like the work of a man who thinks he would be better off playing somewhere else? Hardly.

He has answered some internal critics in the right way. Villa’s captain, John McGinn, made some pointed remarks in public about Duran last season, but last weekend said he was not alone in noticing an improved attitude: "I think the coaching staff and players have been pleasantly surprised too about how he has handled it all.”

Perhaps this episode just reminds us that everyone grows up at different speeds. That can be a hard process for anyone, and must be considerably more so in the worldwide spotlight of the Premier League, as a young man living not just away from home - but on a new continent.

Allowing them some leeway, to let off a little bit of steam, can be worthwhile. We are also reminded that McGinn is a smart guy to have leading your team. Maybe Glaswegians are just pretty good at knowing when it is best to tell it straight.

In any case, with Champions League fixtures coming quickly after the international break, there should be enough chances to play in important games to satisfy Duran, Watkins and everyone else in the Villa squad.

Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

The dust has settled on the transfer window, the Premier League is well and truly back, and we are into the first international break of 2024-25.

So we want you to predict where Aston Villa will finish in the Premier League this season - thinking about the start to the campaign and summer transfer business.

Submit your prediction here

And also, please tell us what is the one thing - good or bad - you have learned about the Villans so far in the campaign?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Aston Villa's John McGinn has reflected on his side drawing Celtic - his boyhood club - in the Champions League.

"The phone was going off the hook", he said.

David Michael
Fan writer

During a Villa Fan Consultation Group meeting with owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris in the week they announced their takeover of Aston Villa in 2018, I asked them why they chose to buy the club instead of pursuing an earlier interest in the founding of the Inter Miami franchise. Edens responded with two words: “Champions League.”

Edens elaborated, explaining that the global reach of the Champions League offered a significantly higher ceiling compared to the MLS. Fast-forward, and true to Edens word, the Champions League draw last week marked Aston Villa’s long-awaited return to the top tier of European competition after 42 years.

While a younger generation of fans might have bemoaned missing out on ties with Real Madrid or Barcelona (don’t worry, those will hopefully come later), the draw could not have been better scripted for supporters who remember Villa’s European Cup exploits. Villa’s 1982 European Cup final opponents, Bayern Munich, provide the perfect first tie at Villa Park. The last team to visit Villa Park in the European Cup, Juventus, also returns, and Villa will fancy their chances more this time around compared to in 1983, when they faced a star-studded team featuring Platini, Boniek, Rossi, Tardelli, Zoff, et al.

The match-up with Celtic is also rich in European heritage, with the first British team to lift Europe’s top prize playing against the fifth, in a match-up that has never taken place competitively. Celtic have a creditable record in ‘Battle of Britain’ clashes winning more than they have lost, so may be trickier than some of the other eight Champions League opponents Villa face.

While the influence of money increasingly controls and distorts the footballing world (Villa fans are bracing for ‘in demand’ Champions League ticket pricing), this year’s Champions League campaign offers plenty for the purists and sentimental, and is truly a lightning-in-a-bottle season for Villans, perfectly timed to mark the club’s 150th anniversary.

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

Image source, PA Media

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Leicester and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Chris: I don’t understand why Cooper sets us up so negatively. I never expected Bilal El Khannouss to start, but we looked so much better with Stephy Mavididi and Facundo Buonanotte on the pitch that you have to wonder why they didn’t start. It’s starting to feel a bit like when we’re good it’s in spite of Cooper, not because of him.

Rob: Questionable starting line up with all the creativity on the bench. We were always going to go 2-0 behind before changes that should have happened earlier. The referee was woeful and really didn’t help the game to flow and continually got in the way! Some optimism from a couple of new faces. Onwards and upwards - we can’t have a poor ref every week.

Reuben: Pity we couldn't complete the comeback, but I think that's a good result considering how good Villa have been over the last few seasons.

Filbert: Can't afford to be scored against first. Way too much to ask this season for a comeback. Not showing enough to survive. The obvious points deduction is hovering over our heads. Not expecting much but going down again. Need three teams to be worse than we are, with no point deduction. Keep the faith.

Villa fans

Dean: Brilliant result. When Arsenal beat us last week in a game I’d say we were slightly the better team, everyone praised Arsenal's resilience. We won here despite not being at our best. With key players coming back and Ollie Watkins' return to goalscoring imminent, it’s a great sign for Villa fans.

Josh: Hard-fought win in the end and we were lucky Jamie Vardy’s antics didn’t cost us. Watkins needs a reality check and I’d give the loose canon Jhon Duran a start. Already a worry we didn’t buy another striker.

Grizzly: The standards Unai Emery sets, his ideology. method and mentality have turned Villa into a formidable machine but he will have an important descion to make regarding Watkins given his lack of composure and edge in front of goal. He's now missed three killer chances in the past two games whereas Duran has a view to a kill and will demand a start.

Adam: Villa got the job done today. Away against a promoted side is rarely easy but we did what we had to to take the points home. Just hope Leon Bailey and Amadou Onana's injuries aren’t bad.

Aston Villa's fixture list for the new league phase of the revamped Champions League has been confirmed.

Villa will play eight games against eight different teams between 17 September and 29 January, four away and four at home.

Back in the competition for the first time since 1982-83, Unai Emery's team travel to Swiss side Young Boys in their opener.

Teams who finish in the top eight will qualify automatically for the last 16, while those who place ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them.

See the full list

Watch all the highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures with Gary and the team.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Leicester 1-2 Aston Villa

• West Ham 1-3 Man City

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport Football News Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Jhon Duran is already proving patience is a virtue.

Few would have expected the striker to be at Aston Villa beyond the end of the transfer window after the summer saga with West Ham, where Villa rejected several offers.

But after a second match-winning goal this season the 20-year-old will be able to rightly say his actions are speaking louder than words.

Boss Unai Emery spoke about the forward's focus, amid the transfer talk, and made the point he has played a part in every game this season.

Duran is unlikely to dislodge Ollie Watkins as the frontline striker full time but he is making a serious case to earn a start.

That start would be just a fourth in the Premier League since joining from Chicago Fire in January 2023.

It underlines his frustration, and perhaps his desire, to join West Ham for more opportunities but his super-sub status will quickly change at Villa if he can keep delivering.

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, speaking to Match of the Day: "I’m very happy because after three matches we have six points. We lost against Arsenal but competed the way we wanted. To get three points here today is fantastic.

"We competed very well in the first match against West Ham, in the second game against Arsenal and again here today.

"We have some days off now. We want a rest. We need to prepare for the next weeks in the Premier League and the Champions League.

"We have a lot of players going with the national teams now. It’s good, because it tells us the players are progressing. It’s fantastic."

On Ollie Watkins: "Ollie didn’t score but I’m happy with him. This is the way. He’s playing very well. He’s doing his work but he’s getting his chances. He’s going to score."

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa bounced back from last weekend's defeat at Arsenal with a narrow win at King Power Stadium, but on another day Unai Emery's team could have won by a greater margin.

Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen kept the Foxes in the game in the first half, twice denying Ollie Watkins from close range before recovering in time to thwart the striker after letting Caleb Okoli's pass slip under his foot.

It was another frustrating afternoon for Watkins, who remains without a goal this season despite going close on several occasions in Villa's opening league games of the campaign.

He has now gone seven top-flight appearances without scoring, his longest barren run since an eight-game spell between August and October 2022.

To add insult to injury for Watkins, the man who replaced him on Saturday - Colombian Jhon Duran - doubled Villa's lead just two minutes after entering the fray.

Duran was heavily linked with a move to West Ham over the summer but after scoring the all-important second goal in Villa's 2-1 win over the Hammers, he netted another crucial goal at King Power Stadium to help his team claim a hard-earned three points.

Image source, Getty Images

Amadou Onana became just the third player to score in each of his first two away Premier League appearances for Aston Villa after Robbie Keane (February 2012) and Moussa Diaby (August 2023).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Leicester fans, have your say on the Foxes' performance, external

What did you make of the display, Villa fans?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

There are seven Premier League games this Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.

All times BST

Follow all the action and reaction here

BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Leicester v Aston Villa

• West Ham v Man City

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week three, he takes on MOBO Award-winning drum & bass legend and producer Adam F.

Sutton's prediction: 1-3

I think Leicester have got their work cut out against Villa, they were lucky to get a point against Tottenham.

To be fair, they were resilient against Fulham but deservedly lost the game. I think it is going to be a long season for them.

I think Villa will bounce back and Ollie Watkins will get his shooting boots on. Morgan Rodgers looks super sharp for them.

Adam F's prediction: 1-2

I am expecting Villa to have another good season.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder and Planet Premier League pundit Cesc Fabregas believes the transfer window should close before the season begins.

Listen to the Planet Premier League podcast on BBC Sounds

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Leicester (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Matty Cash and Diego Carlos are unavailable, with right-back Cash ruled out for three to four weeks.

• Emery also provided an update on long-term absentees Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia, who are returning "progressively" and "feeling good".

• On the club's transfer business: "I'm very happy because we did the things we were planning at the beginning. With other players we have added in the squad this year, I'm very happy."

• On what Ollie Watkins needs to complete 90 minutes: "Some players were playing until the last moment in international competitions with their national teams and had less holiday than others, especially him. He was coming back with a small injury and wasn't 100% when he started training with us. He needed one week resting more after he came back.

• He added: "Now after playing two matches, I think he's going to feel better and better, and be comfortable remembering how we want to get his best performances. He played good not brilliant last week. He did the job we are always demanding of him. We want his goals as well and he had two good chances. He didn't score but the most important thing is to create chances."

• Emery said Youri Tielemans, who is returning to face his old club for the first time, knows "perfectly a lot of things about football in Leicester" and they have been asking him about the atmosphere they will face.

• He added: "Last year was an adaptation for [Tielemans] and he was getting progressively better in the structure we are creating. This year he's started very, very good, playing with the best level since we signed him last year. Tomorrow is a very important match for him, for us, respecting the opponent."

• On their upcoming Champions League campaign: "We are motivated. We are going to enjoy together [with our supporters] playing again in the Champions League. But, if we want to play next year in the Champions League, we have to be consistent and performing in the Premier League. But we are very, very motivated and we know our way - be intelligent, working hard always, be very demanding, more than last year."

• He said that is will be "very difficult" facing Leicester and they "have to respect them because if we don't they can threaten us".

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and transfer deadline day news

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa midfielder Enzo Barrenechea has joined Spanish club Valencia on loan.

Barrenechea joined Villa from Juventus in the summer but is yet to feature for the first team in a competitive game.

We asked for your views on Aston Villa's transfer window so far, and what needs to happen on deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Craigy: Very happy with the squad, especially with Kamara, Buendia and Mings coming back from long-term injury. Like to see Barrenechea (loan out), Dendoncker, Olsen and Hause moving on. They won't get a look-in this season.

Ian: I actually think we have now a squad to compete in all competitions when we have everyone fit. If Duran does leave then we will need to bring in another striker and if Carlos goes then another central defender, but overall happy with the squad.

Jonah: I honestly think that we need a versatile defender such as Lutsharel Geertruida who can play both on the right and in the centre of the defence. When we have that, we will have a leak-proof defence.

Martin: Tying the world's number one to a new deal is the best bit of business for us this summer, but all signings have been really positive. In terms of what's needed, same thing we've been crying out for for a while: quality back-up options for Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins. If either of them are out for a length of time, it worries most of us what will happen.

Lee: Boy do we need a striker. Watkins will be overworked otherwise and Duran isn't quite up to scratch as yet.