Aston Villa will undergo a rebuild for the 2026/27 Premier League season after the sale of key players this summer.
Unai Emery guided Villa to fourth last term in a season for the history books, also ending a 44-year wait for European silverware, and helping them lift their first trophy in 30 years.
The Villans have undergone some significant changes during the off-season, though, as Emery and a largely fresh backroom team aim to morph an aging squad into a revamped side able to continue competing on multiple fronts.
Continue for all the Aston Villa stats ahead of the 2026/27 Premier League season, delving into the club’s transfer business, key players for the upcoming campaign, plus Unai Emery’s tactics.
Aston Villa opening fixtures 2026/27 Premier League
Villa begin the Premier League campaign with an away trip to Brighton in the first televised Sunday 2pm slot of the new season. They then face defending champions Arsenal in their first home game of the season. Next is a visit to the MKM Stadium to face newly-promoted Hull City. Nottingham Forest will be the second side to test Unai Emery’s men at Villa Park before a tricky clash with Tottenham in North London seven days later.
| Date | Opponent | Kick-off |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 23rd August | Brighton (A) | 2pm |
| Monday 31st August | Arsenal (H) | 8pm |
| Saturday 5th September | Hull City (A) | 5:30pm |
| Saturday 12th September | Nottingham Forest (H) | 3pm |
| Saturday 19th September | Tottenham (A) | 12:30pm |
Arsenal’s key players for 2026/27 Premier League
Aston Villa top Premier League Golden Boot contender: Ollie Watkins
- Key stat: Only Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago registered more shots on target than Ollie Watkins’ tally of 38 during the 2025/26 season.
Villa’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer is entering his seventh season with the club. Signed from Brentford for a then club-record fee of £28 million, Watkins has notched 10+ league goals in each of his six campaigns. The 30-year-old enjoyed his best goalscoring season in 2023/24, netting 19 times in the Premier League during a period when he was considered one of the best strikers in Europe. Last term, Watkins equalled his tally from the season prior, scoring 16 goals to once again finish as AVFC’s top scorer.
Aston Villa primary playmaker: Johan Manzambi
- Key stat: Johan Manzambi scored five goals from an xG of 4.07 last season in the Bundesliga for Freiburg.
With Morgan Rogers leaving for Chelsea in a £117 million switch, Manzambi is his younger, direct replacement. Rogers was critical to Villa’s success last season, recording the most Premier League minutes of any Villa player (3,280) while also contributing 10 goals and six assists. His exit leaves an enormous void, but the Swiss midfielder arrives highly regarded, with Villa making their intentions explicitly clear when hijacking a deal from under Newcastle’s nose during the World Cup. Manzambi will bring plenty of verve, tactical versatility, and excellent ball-carrying abilities to the team just as Rogers did, however, his profile should also see him contribute through winning duels and effective counter-pressing.
Aston Villa card magnet and top tackler: Matty Cash
- Key stat: Matty Cash averaged 1.88 tackles per 90 in the league last term.
No player made more tackles last season in the league for Aston Villa than Matty Cash’s 66. Across his 35 league appearances, Cash picked up nine yellows – two more than the departed Morgan Rogers. With depth at right-back currently looking light, Villa might lean heavily on Cash again another long, arduous campaign, which would be music to both supporters’ and card backers’ ears.
Aston Villa rising star: Brian Madjo
Signed from Metz in January, Villa recently confirmed that their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was successful, meaning the 17-year-old is now eligible to feature. Born in Enfield, and a UK citizen, Madjo left England for Luxembourg at a young age, being unable to play due to FIFA’s rules on the international transfer of minors. After scoring four goals in pre-season, Madjo’s stature and physicality have impressed, just as his diverse range of finishing has. Despite his age, Madjo can be an extremely useful asset to Villa’s forward line this season.
Aston Villa 2026 summer transfers
Villa’s summer business includes the sales of two key players, but their incomings include some promising talent. Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans have left for Chelsea and Man Utd respectively, with Lewis Dobbin, Enzo Barrenechea, and Donyell Malen completing permanent moves. Meanwhile, Joe Gauci, Andres Garcia, and Oliwier Zych have all been loaned out for the duration of the campaign.
In terms of additions, club-record signing Johan Manzambi arrives for £59.5 million from Freiburg, Joao Gomes has traded Molineux for Villa Park, Modou Cisse has finally joined for £6 million after an agreement with LASK a year prior, while Alejandro Garnacho seeks to revitalise his career with a loan move from Chelsea.
| Incomings | Outgoings |
|---|---|
| Johan Manzambi (from Freiburg) | Morgan Rogers (to Chelsea) |
| Joao Gomes (from Wolves) | Youri Tielemans (to Man Utd) |
| Alejandro Garnacho (loan from Chelsea) | Lewis Dobbin (to Southampton) |
| Madou Cisse (from LASK) | Donyell Malen (to Roma) |
| Enzo Barrenechea (to Benfica) | |
| Joe Gauci (loan to Lincoln) | |
| Andres Garcia (loan to Getafe) | |
| Oliwier Zych (loan to Vitoria) |
Aston Villa tactical analysis and formation
Aston Villa’s team stats (average per game in 2025/26 Premier League)
- Corners: 5.24
- Shots on target: 4.5
- Shots on target conceded: 4.29
- Offsides: 1.1
Even amidst this rebuild, Emery should stick with his beloved 4-2-3-1 formation. Off the ball, his side’s shift into a flat 4-4-2, deploying a high defensive line and aggressive press. Emery’s system is incredibly meticulous and requires tactical flexibility, often featuring quick vertical transitions used to exploit space on the counter-attack.
In possession, Villa build up slowly out of defence utilising short passes and frequently attempting to lure opposition’s into a high press to play through the lines. Emery likes his teams to be fairly narrow in the attacking third, allowing his full-backs to play high and provide overlapping width.
There are few teams in the league better suited to quick transitions than Villa. Manzambi possesses the elite ball-carrying abilities Rogers previously provided, which could be a deadly combination when paired with the pace and dribbling of Garnacho. A durable McGinn and robust Gomes will keep Villa’s off-the-ball work rate high, while the return of a fully fit Kamara will help reshape a new midfield.
Aston Villa manager analysis
Unai Emery took the Villa job from Steven Gerrard, who was relieved of his duties following just two wins from their first 11 games, leaving them 16th, and just one point from the relegation zone. Emery has enjoyed four successful seasons, starting with a seventh-place finish and a spot in the Europa Conference League, and most recently saw Villa win the Europa League last term – a record-breaking fifth title in the competition for Emery.
Between those seasons, the Basque led Villa to a Champions League quarter-final on the back of a fourth-place finish, also achieving that same result last term despite injuries to key players. A first European trophy for 44 years, their first piece of silverware in 30 years, plus four consecutive European qualifications – twice landing in the Champions League – undoubtedly makes Emery the best Villa manager of the modern era, and one of their greatest ever.
| Manager | Team | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unai Emery | Aston Villa | 196 | 109 | 34 | 53 | 55.6 |