Analysis: Aston Villa are hitting their peak at the perfect moment

Yet no matter how much you enjoyed the first half, or chewed your fingernails during the second, all you cared about at the final whistle was the result. Round this time of year, it’s typically all that matters.

Aston Villa 2 Nottingham Forest 1 was the seventh win on the spin for Unai Emery’s team and further confirmation they are hitting their stride at the perfect moment.

From being rank outsiders in the race for Champions League football, Villa are now firmly in the thick of it. Emery, meanwhile, has become the club’s first manager since Ron Saunders to record two different runs of 15 league matches unbeaten at home. Not since their surge to promotion from the Championship in 2019 under Dean Smith have Villa been on a longer winning run.

Saturday’s victory capped a brilliant week, which saw Emery’s men set up a date at Wembley in the FA Cup before then securing two big wins against top half rivals in Brighton and Forest.

Destiny for a top-five finish which will almost certainly be enough to secure Champions League qualification still lies in the hands of Manchester City and Newcastle United. Matches against both in the space of four days later this month will be pivotal to Villa’s chances of wrestling control.