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Victory in Belgium tonight would see Villa join Liverpool as the only teams with a 100% record from four games – and well on the way to securing a top-eight finish, and a golden ticket to the last 16. Emery’s side are yet to concede a goal in Europe this season, and will kick off against Club Brugge as warm favourites to make it four wins from four.
That said, the fixture list from here is tricky (Juventus and Celtic at home, Leipzig and Monaco away) and with the continental itinerary creating some domestic turbulence -and some big Premier League games to negotiate before the end of January – Emery will be very keen to get an extra three points on the board here.
Standing in their way are a team rediscovering their groove after struggling under Scott Parker and Ronny Deila, winning last season’s Belgian title and currently sitting second in the table. The new man in charge, Nicky Hayen, was manager of Haverfordwest County in early 2022, but is now building a reputation as a young coach to watch.
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