- Founded 1874
- Stadium Villa Park
- Manager Unai Emery
- Competition Premier League 2026-27
- Goals 4
- Goals Conceded 9
- Yellow Cards 10
- Total Red Cards 1
Aston Villa Squawka Score ratings 2026/27
Villa go into the international break 16th, and the 3-2 win at Tottenham on the final weekend was badly needed. Unai Emery’s side had taken one point from the first four, beaten 4-0 at Brighton and 1-0 at home by Arsenal either side of a goalless afternoon at Hull City, before losing 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. Below, we take a look at Villa’s most-used XI so far and how each player has performed, based on the Squawka Score rating system.
The Squawka Score is a metric developed to assess a player’s performance relative to other players in the same position. It is shown as a percentage, and it is worth knowing that 66% is average rather than 50% – a 70% is a good afternoon and 85% or above marks out one of the best players on the pitch. Each score is calculated from a range of per-90-minute statistics, taking in the obvious numbers such as goals and assists alongside some more obscure ones that are far more position-specific. A player’s season figure is simply the average of his match ratings.
GK: Zion Suzuki – 75% – Comfortably Villa’s best performer, and the only man at the club rating above 70%. Fifteen saves in four starts, a clean sheet at Hull and seven completed sweeper actions off his line. In a side that has conceded nine, the goalkeeper keeping the scores respectable is the story of the opening month.
RB: Matty Cash – 54% – Five tackles won is a decent return, but the rest makes for hard reading: six fouls, two yellow cards and three occasions beaten one-on-one in 298 minutes. Cash has offered a little going forward with nine passes into the box, though the defensive side has been a struggle.
RCB: Victor Lindelöf – 54% – Every minute played and 18 clearances, the most of any Villa defender, plus 33 progressive passes out from the back. The score reflects how often he has been exposed: three duels won from 13 is a difficult number for a centre-back, and Villa have conceded nine with him on the pitch throughout.
LCB: Pau Torres – 47% – The lowest rating in the side. Torres has an error leading to a goal and another leading to a shot in only 189 minutes, and he has won four of his 10 duels. Seven clearances and seven possessions regained in his own third are the redeeming numbers, but this has been a difficult start.
LB: Ian Maatsen – 60% – Seven interceptions and 10 clearances show he is busy, and he has had five shots of his own. The duel record is the problem: nine won and 20 lost, comfortably the worst ratio in the back four, and five fouls conceded on top.
RCM: Boubacar Kamara – 61% – The steadiest presence in midfield, with a club-high seven tackles won, 52 passes into the final third and 26 duels won. Nine fouls is the most in the squad and the main drag on the rating, but he has been the closest thing Villa have had to control.
LCM: Ross Barkley – 61% – Villa’s joint-top creator with six chances created, and he has had seven shots for 0.41 xG. He has also completed four take-ons and won 18 duels. Against that, 28 duels lost and an error leading to a shot keep him just below the positional average.
RW: John McGinn – 59% – The captain leads Villa for passes into the penalty area with 34 and for xA with 1.03, and he has two assists to show for it. The flip side is a bruising one: 30 duels lost, six fouls, two yellow cards and three errors leading to shots. Effort has never been the issue.
AM: Emiliano Buendía – 61% – A goal, five chances created and 17 passes into the box from the No.10 role, along with nine shots for 0.71 xG. He has also been dribbled past eight times, the most in the side, and lost 35 duels – a measure of how stretched Villa have been through the middle.
LW: George Hemmings – 56% – Three chances created including one clear-cut opening, and eight possessions regained in his own third, which says plenty about how much defending the young winger has done. One shot in four starts is the number that has to improve.
ST: Nicolas Jackson – 65% – One goal from eight shots and 0.59 xG, with 16 touches in the opposition box. The standout number is 11 completed take-ons, by far the most at the club, which tells you how often he has had to create something on his own. Two yellow cards is the one blot.
Aston Villa set-piece specialists:
- Penalties: Emiliano Buendía
- Free-kicks: Emiliano Buendía
- Corners: John McGinn, Emiliano Buendía
McGinn has taken eight of Villa’s corners to Buendía’s four, with Ross Barkley, Alejandro Garnacho and Ibrahim Sissokho sharing one apiece. Buendía has taken the only direct free-kick and should inherit the penalties with Ollie Watkins, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne all gone, though Villa are yet to be awarded one this season.
Aston Villa FAQs
How have Aston Villa started the 2026/27 season?
Poorly, though the international break arrives on a high. Villa are 16th with four points from five, having won only at Tottenham, where they came from behind to win 3-2. They have scored four and conceded nine.
Who is Aston Villa’s best player this season?
Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, and it is not close. His 75% Squawka Score is the only figure above 70% at the club, built on 15 saves and a clean sheet at Hull.
Where did Aston Villa finish in the 2025/26 Premier League season?
Villa finished fourth on 65 points, which is their highest league placing of the Emery era.
Who is the Aston Villa manager?
Unai Emery is the Aston Villa manager, taking the reins in 2022 after Steven Gerrard was sacked.
Who is the current Aston Villa captain?
John McGinn is Aston Villa’s current captain.
Are Aston Villa playing in Europe in 2026/27?
They are. Villa are in the Champions League after their fourth-placed finish, and they won the Europa League in 2025/26.