Aston Villa: Catching Wolves in Championship table a tall order
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa’s impressive form sees the club securely in fourth place. Steve Bruce’s squad has a lot going for them currently, but catching league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers will take plenty of improvement…or regression from the club at Molineux.
Aston Villa have the chance to elevate themselves into third place on Friday with an away trip to Leeds United. Three points at Elland Road and the claret and blues supplant Sheffield United, at least briefly, in the EFL Championship table.
In a league that rewards automatic promotion from the top two spots out of 24, the fight is fierce for coveted recovery into the Premier League.
With 44 points through 19 league matches, Wolverhampton Wanderers are stomping their second division competition. It is not just that they are winning, it is how they are winning. A +23 goal differential outpaces the league by nine with second-place Cardiff City at +14. Blades and Villa follow at +11 apiece.
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Wolves’ uber collection of young (much of it Portuguese) talent is enough for most mid-table Premier League clubs to salivate over. 20-year old central midfielder Rúben Neves is a star, and already a seasoned professional within the Portugal set-up. Diogo Jota, also 20, hasn’t received a senior Portugal call-up yet, but he can’t be far behind with nine goals and four assists on the season. Brazilian striker Léo Bonatini, 23, nearly tops the league in scoring with 11 goals, Barry Douglas is joint-assist lead holder with seven, John Ruddy leads the league in clean sheets.
What Aston Villa might be playing for is second place. Of course it is early, but the current trajectory for Wolves has them by-and-far the best team in the league. Only a regression from the West Midlands club coupled with further improvement from Villa can result in a table overtaking.
The likes of Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Derby County, and the aforementioned Leeds United (currently 8th) might be the more important competition by season’s end. Friday’s away match to Elland Road will be one more data point in configuring how the league settles as we approach the halfway mark in the season.