The stated goal of Unai Emery for Aston Villa is looking good at the moment. It was close and came with a lot of drama, but Villa found a way to get three points against AFC Bournemouth. Then, the ensuing Premier League fixtures went in favor of AVFC.
With only 20 matches total to determine who will finish in the top five, there are open avenues for Villa to qualify for Champions League for next season. Emery has always maintained that earning a high spot in the EPL is the priority.
There have been some notable injuries, including to those of Youri Tielemans and Marcus Rashford. Villa still have an excellent array of options for Emery to choose from. As seen against the Cherries, Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara are more than capable of filling in the midfield void.
Up top, Ollie Watkins is the club's leading goal scorer in the Prem. While Jacob Ramsey will be unavailable for the Tottenham Hotspur fixture, John McGinn and Morgan Rogers are players who will see their names in the starting XI, assuming Emery doesn't do something else bold or different from his selections.
It's not that three points can be penciled in against Spurs, but that side is clearly focused on their upcoming Europa League final against Manchester United.
Important games for Aston Villa supporters to pay attention to
Around the league, Chelsea or Manchester City needs to drop points. Nottingham Forest are only a point behind Villa. Nuno Espírito Santo's side isn't looking quite as strong as it once was, though.
For the Blues, they will finish against a Manchester United side that will look to avoid yet another EPL defeat. Then they wrap up the season against Forest. Both are possible fixtures for CFC to drop points.
City are preparing for their FA Cup final. Then they face Bournemouth and Fulham. As the Villans most recently experienced, both teams are capable of pulling off a strong showing and could provide trouble for Pep Guardiola.
Either way, there are legitimate opportunities for Villa to watch other fixtures throughout the weekend with Villa's best interest in mind. It will, of course, take Emery's men still compiling wins. As long as they keep earning three points, there are plenty of avenues for AVFC to move from sixth to fifth.