With some of the recent departures from Aston Villa, the squad is noticeably smaller compared to last season. The loan moves and outright exits from the club have given Unai Emery a smaller roster to make his matchday selections from. Particularly when compared to the other Premier League sides that are going to be in a position to fight for a Champions League spot, there has been a significant amount of concern from the fan base regarding the lack of new signings.
It is clear, however, that Emery and Monchi have known for a while that the SCR and PSR implications would limit their ability to spend during the transfer windows. So in order to combat this, they have instead elected to keep the essence of the squad intact. With that in mind, it is important to have some perspective.
As is, there are still going to be matches in which someone who could easily be a regular starter does not see action. While it is not quite to the same extent as last season's 'starting 22,' there is still enough depth.
Granted, an injury could end up proving to be catastrophic, but that is true for all teams every year. It can be assumed that if it were not for PSR or SCR, then, of course, Villa would have been active and would have likely been able to even bring in Douglas Luiz.
Honest assessment of Aston Villa
The margin may be a little slimmer in terms of injuries for Villa, and there will assuredly be someone who misses significant time. All in all, though, the side is still set up well to be able to succeed and make another CL push.
It is certainly legitimately valid to have concerns over this aspect. Considering the limitations that the club is under, Villa have done well to still remain as competitive as possible while still setting up the side to be set up with the long term in mind.