Can Emery transform Aston Villa again?
- Published
Aston Villa will still be seeking another top-four finish next season - when the Premier League landscape looks certain to be a lot different from last season and Villa are without many of their previous squad.
After ending their 30-year wait for a trophy with May's Europa League win, can Emery continue to produce his magic?
Last season, Villa's expected points was 48.50, which would have left them 12th - eight places below where they eventually finished.
They were one of the clear over-achievers, with only Sunderland doing better, finishing seventh instead of an expected position of 18th.
Villa did not drop out of the top four after beating Leeds last November, aided by winning 12 of 13 top-flight games between September and December.
Then came the drop off, with just six league wins after the turn of the year as they needed to rely on the failings of others - notably Chelsea - to stay in the top five.
Yet they managed it despite Boubacar Kamara's second-ending injury, John McGinn's knee problem that kept him out for 10 games and the knee issue for Youri Tielemans that sidelined him for two months.
During Tielemans' injury absence between February and April, Villa won just two of eight Premier League games - including a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea that left them on the brink of dropping out of the top four.
Without him, Villa's Premier League win ratio dropped from 53% to 41%.
It all adds to the quality of Emery's work, managing to keep Villa in the top four despite constant setbacks.
Doing it again against a summer of change will be another test of the manager's skill.
