Why Aston Villa has made a terrible start to this season

Aston Villa has won none of its first five league games of the 2025/2026 Premier League season, and it has lost two.

This is a surprising start to the season from them if you ask many fans and neutrals because of the progress they have made in recent seasons.

Villa has been one of the clubs challenging the traditional top four sides for a place in the Champions League.

Last season, they competed in it, having been fantastic in the 2023/2024 Premier League season.

With Unai Emery, they have one of the best managers in the world when it comes to turning situations around.

The Spaniard loves to create underdog stories, and he was minutes away from leading them to the Champions League semifinal last season.

The club has made a poor start to the season, and everyone who buys Aston Villa tickets wants a change, but one change no one wants to see happen is for the manager to leave.

This is why there have been no alarm bells at the club yet, and no fan has been asking for a change of leadership.

In fairness, three draws from the first five league games of the season are not even as bad as we would think it is.

Most clubs have not found their bearing yet, and there are 33 more league matches for Villa to play this season.

However, due to the standards they have set over the last few seasons, we all know that they are expected to do much better.

They were not among the most active clubs in the last transfer window, but they still have a strong squad, despite losing the likes of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, who spent last season on loan with them.

Villa will always be one of the best clubs in the country, and we think they can still have a very good season, but why have they struggled in the opening weeks of this term?

Lack of new signings

Every team that wants to sell Premier League tickets knows the importance of making signings every summer.

When Villa qualified for the Champions League last season, they anticipated suffering the curse of the Champions League.

This led them to seriously strengthen their squad and expand it to become bigger and stronger.

The likes of Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, and Jaden Philogene were added to their squad that summer, with Donyell Malen joining them permanently in January alongside Asensio, Rashford and Axel Disasi, who joined on loan.

This summer, Villa were forced to sell Jacob Ramsey and only signed Evann Guessand from Nice for £26 million as their main signing.

Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho joined them on loan late in the window, but this is clearly not the type of window a serious team should have.

Villa’s failure to make the top four last term affected their spending limits, so it forced them to have a quiet window, and it has affected their start to this season.

The team needed some new faces, but they have only acquired a few unspectacular names, which is affecting their performance so far. 

Underperforming players

Many Villa players have been struggling this season, which has affected the outcome of their matches.

Emery is one of the coaches who can bring out the best in any player, as long as the individual is willing to learn and improve.

He is somewhat of a tactical genius who has masterminded significant results throughout his career, but he is struggling to get the best from his stars this season.

It has come as a surprise watching Ollie Watkins struggle, with the striker drawing a blank in his five league games this season, and he has started all those matches.

Last term, Watkins scored 16 league goals and provided 8 assists, but this season, he has not gotten a goal or an assist.

It is remarkable for the England striker who should be working hard to be in the squad for the World Cup next year.

Another player who has underwhelmed this season is Morgan Rogers, a player Liverpool plans to sign in the future.

Rogers has been one of the most creative players in England since he moved to Villa and peaked last season with 8 league goals and 10 assists.

However, he has zero on each stat after five league matches this season, which is one of the reasons Villa has struggled.

Jadon Sancho secured a late move to the club, and much is expected from him, but he cannot even break into the first eleven at the moment.

He was pivotal as Chelsea won the Europa Conference League last season, and the Villa fans expect so much from him.

However, he started their League Cup game against Brentford, and they were knocked out of the competition.

Villa has generally looked comfortable at the back as they have not conceded more than a goal in a league game except in their match against Crystal Palace.

It is their attackers who have failed to click, and it also has to do with a lack of creativity in the squad so far.

Hangover from a long Champions League run and disappointment

This might sound like a cheap excuse, but exerting themselves by reaching the quarterfinal of the Champions League last season has taken its toll on Villa.

The players overachieved in Europe, and their failure to return to the top four handed them a huge psychological blow as well.

Teams that do not play in the UCL every season always struggle in the campaign they play in it and in the aftermath.

This has happened to Girona, Real Sociedad and Union Berlin in recent seasons, so Villa seems to have been affected.

The players look deflated at the start of the term after not returning to the UCL, and they will need some time and more patience from their fans before they can get into their best form again.

Because they have a really good manager, there is a great chance that they will turn their season around in the coming weeks, but this poor start has surprised most people.

If Sancho and Elliott reach their best shape and begin to perform for them regularly, we could soon witness the first Villa win of the season.