Aston Villa are prepared to sell striker Louie Barry this month to help ease PSR concerns, putting a host of Championship clubs on alert. (Pete O'Rourke), external
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Image source, Getty ImagesOur chief football writer Phil McNulty has been taking your questions.
Dan asked: Do Villa have to sell a player before the end of the month for the second season in a row? Who is it most likely to be? Can they then start buying players again in July?
Andrew asked: Us Aston Villa fans have been given mixed messages by 'the experts' about how much PSR trouble we are in. Some say we need to sell players before the deadline to comply, while others think we will be absolutely fine. Can you bring any clarity on our situation?
Phil answered: I said last week that Villa will certainly have to be smart in the markets to keep on the right side of PSR, but this is a club of high ambition who will do everything to ensure Unai Emery's squad is strengthened not weakened.
The fact they did not achieve Champions League football for next season is, of course, another blow.
There is a speculation that goalkeeper Emi Martinez could leave, while Villa would be open to the sale of Leon Bailey. Jacob Ramsey has been touted for a move away but there would be real pain for Villa and their fans if a gifted local talent was sold, so I think that would only be considered with the greatest reluctance.
Morgan Rogers is regarded as untouchable, but there will be sales.
Villa and Emery are experienced enough to plan for all eventualities, so I can see sales but also incomings to strengthen the squad.
It would have been a lot easier had they been able to get Champions League football for next season but I think you can trust Emery and the rest of Villa's hierarchy to get it right, given their track record.
Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist
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.
Chelsea retain an interest in England midfielder Morgan Rogers, 22, should Aston Villa be open to a sale. (Mail+ - subscription required)
Meanwhile, Villa are willing to sell 28-year-old midfielder Emi Buendia if they receive a bid in excess of £20m for the Argentine. (Caught Offside), external
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Image source, Getty ImagesFollowing the release of the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures, we asked for your thoughts on Aston Villa's schedule.
Here are some of your comments:
Taylor: Nice spread of games for almost all the season, with the exception of the very last two matches, which are horrendous. If we have not established ourselves in the Champions League places by the start of April, we are unlikely to get there at the wire.
Simon: Villa's start looks OK so hopefully we will be top four after the first seven games. December looks tough playing Brighton, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal twice. Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City as three of the final four fixtures makes a difficult end to the season.
Dave: Absolutely abysmal run-in if we need to finish strong, like we have needed to the past few years. We play everyone twice, sure. But Liverpool, Tottenham and City in May is brutal. At least our games after our Europa League fixtures look winnable.
Ian: Well, on paper it looks like a good set of early fixtures and I would like to think we can be up in the top six, if not even the top four. The only thing I would say is that we are away again on the last day! How come?
Jack: We took 16 points from six games in the equivalent fixtures last season. Have to aim for similar. Newcastle at home is tough and Crystal Palace seem to have our number but I think we can take 14-16 points. A good start will be massive if we are to finish in the top five.
Will: I think the start isn't bad and with a couple of additions we will have the depth to compete on all fronts if we can avoid major injuries - unlike last year. My concern is the Christmas period and the final few games where we have tough runs. We will need a strong start to push for top four this season.
Opta has ranked the difficulty of each top-flight team's first five Premier League fixtures of the 2025-26 season.
According to Opta's model, Manchester United have the hardest start, followed by their opening-weekend opponents Arsenal and then Bournemouth.
Aston Villa's first five games have been ranked the easiest, alongside Crystal Palace.
Take a look below to see where your side places...
Image source, Getty ImagesFans have been warned by the Premier League that fixtures could be moved at "relatively short notice" next season because of the number of teams playing in Europe.
A record nine top-flight clubs have qualified for continental competition in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Premier League said there is an "increased likelihood" that games will be re-scheduled if English teams reach the latter stages and it suggested fans take this into consideration when planning their attendance at games.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League next season.
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have qualified for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be playing in the Conference League.
"While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches," a statement from the Premier League said.
"There is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice, after our fixture announcements, should our clubs progress to the knockout rounds of these competitions."
Aside from the opening weekend's game against Newcastle United and the final fixture of the season at Manchester City, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe first West Midlands derby of the 2025-26 Premier League season will be at Villa Park on the weekend of 29-30 November.
Unai Emery's side will then travel to Molineux to face Wolves at the end of February.
Villa will travel defending champions Liverpool on the weekend of 1-2 November, with the reverse fixture scheduled for the penultimate weekend in May.
And what about the schedule over Christmas and New Year? Well, Aston Villa's festive fixtures include home games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, plus two trips to London to face Chelsea and Arsenal.
Finally, the Villans will close their campaign at Manchester City on Sunday, 24 May 2026 - when all 10 matches will kick off at 16:00 BST.
Aston Villa will host Newcastle United in their opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
The match will take place on Saturday, 16 August at 12:30 BST, with Villa's first away fixture against Brentford on the weekend of 23-24 August.
See Aston Villa's Premier League fixtures in full here
All times BST
Aston Villa and Leeds United are keen on 21-year-old Strasbourg and Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra. (Sports Mole), external
Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesOur chief football writer Phil McNulty has been taking your questions.
Dom asked: Asking as an Aston Villa fan, what exactly do you think will be going on at Villa Park this summer? Are we in danger of PSR again and how could that limit our sustained push for more European football?
Phil McNulty: Villa will certainly have to trade smartly this summer to keep on the right side of PSR, and I do sympathise with those at Villa Park who almost feel it is a penalty for breaking the glass ceiling into the top four the season before last.
It required the sale of Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42m late on last August to ensure they were on the right side of PSR.
The fact they did not achieve Champions League football for next season is, of course, another blow.
There is already talk keeper Emi Martinez could leave, while Villa would part with Leon Bailey. Jacob Ramsey has been linked with Spurs, but Villa and their fans would find the sale of the talented local boy close to unpalatable.
Morgan Rogers is regarded as untouchable, but there will be sales.
What you can be sure of is that manager Unai Emery, and Villa's ambitious hierarchy, will have a plan in place, but it would have been a lot easier had they been able to get Champions League football next season.
Villa are in safe hands and will remain competitive.
Image source, Getty ImagesAs the transfer window is now open again until 1 September, we asked for you to tell us one player you want Aston Villa to sign, and another who needs to be sold.
Here are some of your comments:
Mike: Sell Ollie Watkins and go and get Arnaud Kalimuendo from Rennes as a younger replacement.
Rob: Sign Jadon Sancho for that problem right-wing position, and sell Leon Bailey as he has not been good or consistent enough.
Kane: I would sell Emi Martinez and bring in Joan Garcia. Emi has been a legend for Villa and one of our key players but it is time for him to move on so we should cash in now. Garcia looks great and is only 24 years old.
Lee: I would sell Bailey and bring in Jesus Rodriguez in from Real Betis.
J: Matty Cash has hit his ceiling, and although he has a great work ethic on the pitch, his ability is holding us back in the right-back position. Bailey has struggled to hit the levels of last season and with Saudi clubs showing interest, it is a no-brainer to take up on the opportunity and bring a new winger in.
Prit: Sorry to say, but I think Villa will be mostly onlookers in this transfer window. The draconian PSR rules, capitulating against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals and not turning up at Old Trafford for the final league game of the season will very much dictate what business we will be doing.
Atletico Madrid will target Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne if they do not sign Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson. (Times - subscription required), external
Meanwhile, Villa, Arsenal, Athletic Bilbao, Marseille, Inter Milan, and Napoli have all shown interest in 31-year-old Al-Nassr and Spain defender Aymeric Laporte, who used to play for Manchester City. (AS - in Spanish), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
No sooner does the season finish and we start looking forward to key dates for the next campaign - and that will be a lot easier to do on Wednesday when the Premier League fixtures are released.
That's right, that special day in the calendar is almost here already. The day when you'll learn details of derby fixtures, Christmas opponents and end-of-season run-ins.
This page will bring you all the fixtures when they drop at 09:00 BST on Wednesday and we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on how things look.
The new campaign kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, 16 August and it will conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all 10 games will take place at the same time.
The transfer window is open again for summer business to be conducted.
Clubs can now strike deals until the deadline at 19:00 BST on 1 September.
So if you can sell one player, who is it? And if you can buy one player only, who gets the nod?
Give us reasons for your choice but remember, in this instance it's a strict one player leaving and one coming in.
Aston Villa, Chelsea and Tottenham are all keeping tabs on Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, 20, after the Argentine was told to find a new club. (Mail), external
Arsenal will focus on trying to sign Villa's England forward Ollie Watkins, 29. (Record - in Portuguese), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesIt does feel like Aston Villa will have to sell some key players this summer if they are to bring others in and keep within PSR regulations.
There has been a lot of rumours around it and I believe Jacob Ramsey was a name being mentioned who, as a homegrown player, they would make more money from.
It is difficult, and with homegrown players, it is disappointing they are the ones who are sacrificed for these Financial Fair Play rules. You can have a lot of good, young, talented homegrown players coming through, but you know they will be talked about and possibly sold in transfer windows.
Rumours are there at Aston Villa at the moment - and when the rumours are there, they are usually there for a reason. If they want to freshen things up a little bit, then I think they are going to have to offload to do that.
The disappointing thing is that the players they are going to have to offload are probably ones that the the club do not want to lose.
You look at Ollie Watkins, for example. You know he is a player who is going to get you 10-plus goals this season, and having lost Jhon Duran in the winter, who are you going to get to replace what Watkins gives you if he leaves?
They do have squad depth and there is a lot of quality in there, but there are some players who are just more difficult to replace than others.
Losing Watkins would probably have a bigger impact on the team than losing any other player.
Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa have announced the appointment of James Shan as the club's new Under-21 head coach, with current boss Josep Gombau set for an exit this summer.
Shan has been Villa's Under-18 head coach since last summer, winning the Under-18 Premier League national title and FA Youth Cup with the age group.
Gombau was appointed to the role in January 2024 and led Villa's Under-21s to the Round of 16 of the Uefa Youth League.
President of Football Operations Monci, said on the move: "The club is very excited by the talent of our academy players.
"Jimmy has shown his ability to conduct and develop players with the Under-18s winning the league and the FA Youth Cup and we look forward to watching him work with our Under-21s."
Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham are monitoring developments with Jadon Sancho, 25, after the England winger's return to Manchester United following his loan spell at Chelsea. (Sun), external
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