Aston Villa is the big surprise this season

Aston Villa’s manager Unai Emery [AP Photo]

When Aston Villa was on a five-match winless run to start the Premier League season, the team looked more like a potential relegation candidate than a title contender.

Manager Unai Emery was describing his players as “lazy.” Villa’s big names — including England internationals Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers — were showing no form at all. There were major concerns about the club’s lack of activity in the summer’s transfer window.

How, then, to explain the position Villa finds itself in heading into its final game of 2026?

On the back of 11 straight victories in all competitions, Villa is on its best winning streak in more than a century and is being viewed as a legitimate challenger for the Premier League title.

Indeed, beat first-place Arsenal on Tuesday and Villa will be tied on points with the Gunners at the top of the league halfway through its campaign. They and Manchester City have broken away from the rest and are separated by three points after 18 of 38 games, with Liverpool a further seven points back in fourth place.

And Villa will not be scared of Arsenal. After all, just three weeks ago, Villa scored a last-gasp goal to defeat the leaders 2-1 at home and keep its winning run going. That continued on Saturday with a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph at fifth-place Chelsea, secured thanks to two second-half goals by Watkins.

Much of the team’s success is being put down to Emery, the Spanish coach whose savvy tactics, well-timed substitutions and belief in his players leaves no task insurmountable.

Like when Villa trailed — and was being outclassed — at Stamford Bridge at the weekend, before Watkins’ entrance off the bench. Or when Villa twice went behind at West Ham two weeks earlier before winning 3-2. Or when Villa went 2-0 down at Brighton on Dec. 3, only to fight back for a 4-3 victory. Two weeks before that, Villa conceded early at Leeds and rallied for a 2-1 win.

It means Villa goes to Emirates Stadium — where Arsenal hasn’t lost in any competition this season and has taken 25 points from a possible 27 in the Premier League — seeking a sixth straight away win.

The match might be regarded as much a test of Arsenal’s title credentials as Villa’s.

“Not really,” Emery, a former Arsenal manager, replied on Saturday when asked if his team can stay in the title race.

No one will believe him three days later if Villa — most recently English champion in 1981 — racks up another win.

Key matchups

City, which is two points behind Arsenal in second place, doesn’t play until Thursday when Pep Guardiola’s team travels to Sunderland protecting an eight-match winning run.

Liverpool has steadied without being entirely convincing and is looking for a fifth straight win in a home match against Leeds, also on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Chelsea — in fifth place — hosts Bournemouth and sixth-place Manchester United is at home to last-place Wolverhampton, which is still without a win in what is now the worst ever start to a Premier League campaign after 18 games.

Players to watch

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has netted in each of his last six matches for Leeds, making it the best scoring form of his career as he heads to Anfield to play Liverpool. The England hopeful still has a way to go to match Jamie Vardy’s Premier League-record scoring streak of 11 games, from back in 2015 during Leicester’s astonishing title-winning campaign.

Rayan Cherki has settled quickly in English soccer following his summer move to Manchester City from Lyon and is tied for the most assists in the Premier League with seven, having set up one goal before scoring the winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Out of action

Arsenal has defensive problems for the match against Villa, with right backs Jurrien Timber and Ben White, left back Riccardo Calafiori and center back Cristhian Mosquera all missing the team’s 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday. Midfielder Declan Rice was forced to play as an emergency right back for that game.

Mason Mount was hoping his injury issues were behind him after finally establishing himself in Man United’s team. However, Mount came off with an unspecified injury in the 1-0 win over Newcastle on Friday and is being assessed ahead of Wolves’ trip to Old Trafford.

Off the field

The January transfer window is about to open and Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo is set to be a central figure in it.

The Ghana international has been linked with most of the Premier League’s top teams but Manchester City appears to be best-placed to sign him.

Sky Sports reported Monday that City has opened talks with Bournemouth about signing Semenyo, who has a release clause of 65 million pounds ($87 million).

It means the trip to Chelsea might prove to be Semenyo’s final game for Bournemouth, for whom he has scored nine league goals this season. STEVE DOUGLAS, Sports Writer, MDT/AP