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Two is the magic number

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The season is getting into its swing now and Villa are perplexing along the way. 

Since I last wrote, the Anfield game panned out as I feared, then we bounced back with a mad comeback against Palace, before losing narrowly to a very impressive Legia Warsaw.

Yet even with 3 noteable away defeats (2 in the league) Unai Emery has us gliding along at 2 points per game, pretty much on a par with his record last season, and this despite some big injuries, a team that isn't really in form, and with only 2 of the 6 games played so far being at home. It is tricky to work out what happens from here. For old/normal Villa, this defensive fragility and seeming lack of form would be the prelude to a disastrous run. Results would gradually reflect displays and we'd swirl around the lower reaches of the league. 

But with Emery things are different. You get the sense that any setback only serves as useful intel for the next improvement. The clean sheet at Stamford Bridge, though, does not mark the end of our defensive fragility. On another day we could definitely have conceded three (as well as scoring three, mind). But, game by game, our Ming-less back line is gradually adapting and working out how to play without its leader. Pau is a passing weapon and Konsa is taking on more of the physical & leadership role. Meanwhile, forwards like Zaniolo and Duran get valuable game time and start to gel with the rest of the squad. 

And as each week passes, we get one week closer to the return of those key players. JJ Ramsey has made his return this week and will be a real boost, offering the blend of pace, attacking threat but also some resilience going back the other way. Moreno is back in the next week or so, and will offer an alternative to the otherwise impressive Digne. Certainly good to have that option in case anyone else does a Gusto and tries to snap his legs. Who knows how long Beundia and Mings will take to recover, but we're not far from October and if we can keep just ticking along, accepting the odd humbling but picking up points consistently then you never know - we could find ourselves in and amongst it come March, with 2 key players to help the final push.

Our European group could be a of of fun. Villa were justifiably beaten by an energetic Legia side who were woefully underrated by the press. They had a record of something like W22 D5 L1 in their last 28 home games, so clearly it wasn't going to be a stroll for Villa, and so it proved. We probably went a bit heavy with the changes, Chambers in particular being the one that rendered us sub-par. A paceless right back against energy and pace had inevitable consequences. AZ Alkmaar also lost, which means our group is upside down and the games to come should be very tasty. Ultimately, Unai knows the score - play three games, win two, and we are generally going to be ok. If he applies the same principle in the conference league, we will come out of the group with 4 wins and 12 points. Here's hoping.

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