Matt Maher: Buckle up, there are big weeks ahead for Wolves and Villa

Are Villa truly equipped to juggle the demands of the Champions League, while targeting another top four finish in the Premier League?

Can Wolves finally get their campaign up and running, win a game and prevent a gap from opening between the bottom three and those above which, while it would be by no means terminal at this stage, would do little for their confidence or Gary O’Neil’s job security.

O’Neil might be trying to ease the pressure on his players by claiming home matches against Crystal Palace and Southampton are not “must-win” but in reality he is kidding no-one.

At the very least, this evening’s clash with Palace falls firmly into the “must not lose” category, unless Wolves want to find themselves seven points adrift of safety just 10 matches into the season. Victory would cut the deficit to just one and ensure any momentum and belief gained from last weekend’s late comeback at Brighton does not quickly evaporate.

That stirring showing might have demonstrated something about the team’s character but we are at the stage where wins are needed more than mere positive vibes. It is impossible not to imagine what the atmosphere inside Molineux would be like should Wolves fail to be victorious either match. 

No-one can dispute a fixture list which has already pitted them against seven of last season’s top eight has been a factor in the poor start. Yet it is also true these more “winnable” games are being played under heightened pressure. If this is the moment O’Neil and his players have been waiting for to prove they are better than their record suggests, they must grasp it.

Opportunity also knocks for Villa who, in their fight at the other end of the table, also have something to prove.

When you are trying to keep up with the best both in the Premier League and in Europe, every game feels crucial, such is the standard of your competitors.

Yet it feels fair to say the next seven days will go some way to telling us where Villa’s aspirations for the season should lie, the biggest indicator yet of just how good Unai Emery’s team are.

Tomorrow’s trip to Tottenham is their toughest Premier League assignment since hosting Arsenal in late August and it is followed by an even sterner test away at Liverpool a week today. In between is an away match at Club Brugge, where Villa will be aiming for a fourth win in four Champions League games to consolidate their position at the top of that particular table.

Seeing Emery’s men at the summit still feels a little surreal but there is a confidence they can stick around and with games against Monaco and Celtic still to come later in the group stage, finishing in the top eight and bypassing the play-off round is now a realistic aim.

Less certain is just how well equipped Villa are to achieve Emery’s main goal of repeating last season’s top-four Premier League finish. The manager might yesterday have described it as his "biggest challenge" but it is also his stated aim and the reason he was this week prepared to sacrifice progression in the Carabao Cup in order to give fringe players minutes which will be valuable in the long-run.

A quick glance at the current table would suggest they are currently on course, level on points with third-placed Arsenal. Yet more serious scrutiny reveals a fixture list which has seen them play six of the bottom eight, with the Gunners, the only team to beat them, also being their only opponents currently sitting in the top nine. Arsenal aside, Villa have not faced another team on Emery’s notorious list of seven “bigger contenders” for Europe until now. 

It is why these games against Tottenham and Liverpool feel such important markers. Villa have won both away games at Spurs under Emery and both have been statements. Victory on New Year’s Day last year was an early warning of the swift turnaround the Spaniard was engineering at Villa Park. The 2-0 win in late November last year, meanwhile, was the first time you really started to believe their strong start to the season could be maintained and become something more.

Both wins also proved crucial in the final shake-up, with Villa pipping Spurs to the Europa Conference League by a single point in 2023, before finishing two points ahead of their London rivals last season to claim the fourth and final Champions League place.

Villa have the look of a team which will again be in the mix for European football but there are at least a couple of question marks. Draws against Ipswich and Bournemouth were disappointing results, considering the efficiency with which Emery’s men have usually dealt with the Premier League’s mid to lower ranked teams. 

Their aversion to keeping clean sheets is another worry. Last month’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United, a result which may come to feel even more of a missed opportunity should Ruben Amorim start getting a tune out of the Red Devils, is the only one in nine matches. Otherwise, Villa’s matches have been entertaining for neutrals but perhaps a little too chaotic for a team with top four ambitions. Rediscovering the art of grinding it out is going to be almost as imperative as tightening up at the back.