Aston Villa could be back in the hunt with points at relegation...

Aston Villa could be back in the hunt with points at relegation rivals

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Aston Villa’s next four games will be season-defining, and they could really do with winning all four of them.

With Newcastle United, West Ham United, Sunderland and then Norwich City coming up, Villa fans will be thinking this is the best chance to pick up some much needed points. But the Villans will struggle, not just because they are generally awful, but every game against a fellow relegation rival is away.

It is not that Villa have much of a home advantage, it is that the other teams will have one. Newcastle’s St James’ Park, Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and Norwich’s Carrow Road can all be intimidating places to go. And you would expect the fans to be up for it, Villa at home is a fixture that is almost guaranteed to make any fan smile.

Even if the Villa do not manage to win all four, which is highly unlikely, a couple of wins and a couple of draws could at least see Villa drag themselves off the bottom, depending on results.

Not only are Villa playing for points and survival, at this stage they are playing to prove to the board that this team deserves the vital investment to stay up. If Villa cannot pick up any points in the run of games before the window opens, then it is assumed by many Villans that the club may start preparing for life in the Championship – which would be a smart move if the Villa are practically dead and buried. Obviously it is not what the fans want, but if the Villa cannot stay in the top division then preparing the team so that it can hit the ground running in July may just be the best thing for the club.

Villa’s relegation rivals have some tough fixtures coming up and it would not be farfetched to see some of the teams fail to pick up any points in the next four games.

Newcastle’s easy game comes this weekend but after Villa, they host Everton – which could very well be a win for them, but after that they face a West Bromwich Albion side that is slowly pulling away from the relegation zone. With it being at home, Tony Pulis will see it as a great opportunity to do some damage. At the start of January, the Toon face Arsenal at the Emirates – never an easy trip to make.

Sunderland, on the other hand, have a bit of a mixed bag. They face a Chelsea side that has just parted with its manager, so it is very hard to predict how that one will go – they have enjoyed relative success at Stamford Bridge recently, having ended Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten home run there. They get to visit Manchester City next and it is likely that they will lose that one. A week before they play Villa, the Black Cats will host Liverpool, which is a very winnable fixture if the Liverpool side that lost to Newcastle turns up.

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Norwich face two tough away trips, one to Manchester United and then on Boxing Day to North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur. They might be able to get a draw at Old Trafford but Spurs could be quite the challenge. The home game against Villa precedes a visit from Southampton.

Swansea City host West Brom and then West Ham United, two games they need to pick up points from before they go away to Crystal Palace and then Manchester United. But expect a new manager effect to trouble one of those teams.

Chelsea, now without a manager, face Sunderland at home, who may look to pounce on the champions’ situation. The following week they face an inform Watford side at the Bridge on Boxing Day. Two away trips to Manchester United and Crystal Palace follow. Like Swansea, it is hard to predict before we find out who will be in charge of the West London side for the rest of the season.

Bournemouth are away from home in all but one of their next four fixtures. A visit to West Brom this weekend will be a difficult game for the same reasons as Newcastle. On Boxing Day, they host Crystal Palace – a game you expect they might win, unless the pressure of going to Arsenal and Leicester City after gets to them.

The Villa are not down and out just yet, and this is the perfect time for them to get back into the fight. The fixtures are not favourable to their rivals, but the most important thing is getting the results against the teams also in the relegation battle.

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