It is already known what type of quality that Aston Villa posses. What supporters also saw last year is how dangerous it can be to fall behind early in the Premier League standings. Attempting to try to catch up in the EPL is practically an impossible task. Particularly at the top, if the gap is too wide, then the quality among those vying for Champions League is such that there are rarely opportunities for sides to be able to make up too much ground.
After two matches, Villa have only managed to produce a point. Perhaps more alarming, the clubs' best players from last season are no longer a part of the respective Matchday squads. Newcastle United and Alexander Izak are not looking like they will see eye-to-eye anytime soon. Bryan Mbeumo, meanwhile, has left Brentford for Manchester United.
Yet still, the Magpies managed to grab a point at Villa Park and could have realistically earned all three. The Bees, too, could feel a little hard done by in that they only won by a single goal. Even with Villa dominating possession, for most of the game it looked like the home side was going to be far more likely to score a second than the visitors an equalizer.
This again speaks to the nature of how dangerous and practically useless any and all preseason projections can be. While they are fun fodder to entertain, the way matches themselves play out in 90 minutes.
Circumstances working against Aston Villa
The Ezri Konsa red card during the Newcastle match derailed things. And while the first goal occurred before the injury, being forced to turn so early on away from the initial game plan does not exactly help, as Boubacar Kamara has hopefully avoided any long-term repercussions.
In every game something wrong is going to happen. Now Villa face the task of simply needing to find a way to still grab the three points, regardless of what happens, in order to remain in contention for a CL spot.