Assuming Aston Villa remain in a 4-2-3-1, the strength of this squad will be in the midfield. Having a strong five for Unai Emery to depend on is an advantage that other clubs aren't able to boast about. Having the engine at the disposal of the current personnel is something that is actually quite difficult to achieve. Clubs spend countless hours looking for ways to be able to compile a similar matching effort in their own midfield.
Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana playing in front of the back four and initiating the attack is a tremendous asset. When Villa are playing at their best, the defensive midfield duo tends to do an excellent job of limiting the opposition's chances, making it difficult for the other side to even gain a foothold in the match, let alone truly threaten Emiliano Martínez.
Looking further up the pitch, the Villa players have a level of versatility that can see them comfortably play in a couple of different positions.
Typically, Emery has Youri Tielemans as the central box-to-box option. Morgan Rogers and John McGinn are on either side of the Belgian, proving able to wreak havoc on the other side's flank both when moving forward and when defending.
Villa's ability to be able to lean on this corps of five is oftentimes quite enjoyable to watch.
Against PSG at Villa Park, this collective proved able to compete with the best of sides. Now, those types of performances need to show up with more frequency, particularly in critical late-round stages in competitions and against the top Premier League sides.
Finding consistent form in this area for Aston Villa
Playing midfield can be something that is difficult to repeatedly have good games from. It is an area of the pitch that sees the most in terms of possibilities and dynamism. In some matches, the legs just can't seem to find a way to get going. It happens.
When looking at Tielemans, McGinn, Onana, Kamara, and Rogers, however, there aren't too many other midfield options, at least on paper, that one would rather take heading into a match.