Aston Villa return from the international break to seven games in 22 days across three competitions, with five of them at Villa Park. After a difficult and fragmented start, October will test Unai Emery's rebuilt squad and could finally show us exactly what this new Villa side is capable of.
Aston Villa have not had the start to the season that many of us would have envisaged, but one of the strange things about where we are right now is that it still feels as though we know very little about this team. There has been so much change, players have arrived at different stages of the summer, injuries have interrupted things and just as Villa finally managed to get that first Premier League victory at Tottenham, everything stopped for an international break that lasts three weeks.
That win at Spurs was important for plenty of reasons, but I think its timing made it even more valuable. Had Villa gone into this break still waiting for a first league victory, there would have been three weeks for everyone to stew on what had been a difficult opening to the campaign. Instead, there were signs in that game of the structures we associate with Unai Emery beginning to return, Nicolas Jackson scored again, Johan Manzambi produced a goal and an assist and Villa finally had that winning feeling in the Premier League.
When they return, however, there will be very little time to ease themselves back into things. October is going to be a massive month for Aston Villa because from the moment they play Brentford on October 10, they have seven matches in 22 days across three different competitions. Five of those seven are at Villa Park and, after losing their opening two Premier League home games of the season, there probably couldn't be a better opportunity to start establishing the rhythm that has been missing so far.
It starts with Brentford at home before Fenerbahce arrive in the Champions League four days later, then Villa face Newcastle in the Premier League the following Saturday. Viking visit Villa Park in Europe before Manchester City arrive three days later, Villa then travel to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup and finally finish the month against Fulham at Villa Park on October 31. It is relentless, but after spending so much of the opening weeks of the season trying to work out what this new Villa side might eventually become, I actually think that intensity could be exactly what they need.
We've seen before under Emery how quickly momentum can build when the games come thick and fast. Last season there was a period after the early international break when Villa seemed to play constantly and instead of that becoming a problem, they used it to build an extraordinary run of results that eventually helped propel them back towards the Champions League places. The previous season was different and there were periods when juggling European and domestic football seemed far more difficult, but Villa have been living in this world for a while now. Emery understands it, many of the players understand it and the squad has been constructed with the expectation that Villa will be competing on several fronts.
There is also an opportunity within the fixtures themselves. Champions League football is never easy and Fenerbahce and Viking will both present their own challenges, but if you were offered two European home games during such a congested period rather than being sent to some of the most difficult grounds on the continent, you would probably take it. Four of Villa's first five matches after the break are at Villa Park, which means this new group has the opportunity to establish itself at home very quickly.
That is particularly important given what has happened there so far. Villa Park has been such a reliable source of points under Emery and yet Villa haven't won there this season. As I have already written, the ground itself feels different with the North Stand being rebuilt, but there is also a different team playing in it. This is an opportunity for both of those things to start becoming normal. Beat Brentford and suddenly there is another home game four days later. Win that and Newcastle arrive three days after that. When confidence is growing, that is exactly when you want another game.
Of course, the opposite can also be true. If Villa struggle against Brentford, there isn't much time to reset before the Champions League returns, and that is why this period has the potential to tell us so much. There hasn't really been a sustained run of football yet in which Emery has been able to use this squad, rotate between competitions and begin working out which combinations are going to define the season. By the end of October, we should have a much clearer idea.
One aspect I do find interesting is the variety of kick-off times Villa will have to negotiate. Last season, playing in the Europa League created a fairly predictable rhythm for long periods: Thursday night followed by Sunday, often at a similar time. October isn't like that. Villa have Saturday afternoon football against Brentford, an evening game against Newcastle, a lunchtime kick-off against Manchester City and then the bizarre prospect of Fulham at eight o'clock on a Saturday night. In between all of that are Wednesday European and cup matches.
It might sound like the sort of thing that gets mentioned as an excuse after a poor result, but I do think it matters. Footballers are obviously used to adapting their schedules, but preparation, recovery and routine are important at this level and Villa are going to have to adjust constantly throughout the month. It also increases the importance of the squad because there is simply no way Emery will be able to approach seven games in 22 days with the same group of players.
That is another reason I'm looking forward to this run. We haven't really been able to judge the depth of this Villa squad yet. Some players arrived late, others have been injured and there are new signings who simply haven't had enough football for us to know exactly where they fit. October changes that. Emery is going to need them, and by the end of the month we should have learned considerably more about the options available to him than we have from the fragmented opening weeks of the campaign.
The Premier League games within the run are fascinating as well. Brentford at home feels difficult given Villa's start at Villa Park, Newcastle away is a fixture I strangely feel more confident about at the moment, Manchester City come to a ground where Villa have developed an excellent recent record against them and Fulham at home is the sort of match you have to look at as an opportunity for three points if Champions League qualification is the ambition again.
Nobody can know exactly how many points Villa will take or how far they will progress in the Carabao Cup during that period, but I do think we will reach November knowing far more about this Aston Villa team than we do today. The opening weeks have felt stop-start and transitional, with the team trying to find itself amid an enormous amount of change. October removes that luxury completely.
Seven games, three competitions and five matches at Villa Park in barely three weeks. Villa wanted a squad capable of competing on several fronts and now we're going to see it properly. If they can rediscover their home form and build on what happened at Tottenham, a season that has taken a while to get moving could look very different by the time October is over.
