Aston Villa 2023/24 season Preview: In many ways Aston Villa would be the most interesting team to watch this upcoming season. The club showed ambition by completing a few star signings last summer. However, things didn’t really work under Steven Gerrard.
In came Unai Emery to prove his worth to English fans after a forgettable stint at Arsenal. To say that Emery had stopped the team from progressing back into mediocrity would not be an overstatement. That being said, this season would be crucial for the team to revive their glory days.
With the return of Sheffield United to the Premier League, Villa fans can prepare for some fierce action. However, closer rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest can be considered bigger fixtures. The complete set of fixtures for the Villans this season is as follows.
Aston Villa 2023/24 season fixtures
| Day | Date | Home side | Away side | City | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saturday |
August 12 2023 | Newcastle United | v | Aston Villa | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Saturday | August 19 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Everton |
Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | August 26 2023 | Burnley | v | Aston Villa | Burnley |
| Saturday | September 2 2023 | Liverpool | v | Aston Villa | Liverpool |
| Saturday | September 16 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Crystal Palace | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | September 23 2023 | Chelsea | v | Aston Villa | Fulham |
| Saturday | September 30 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Brighton & Hove Albion | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | October 7 2023 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
v |
Aston Villa | Wolverhampton |
| Saturday | October 21 2023 | Aston Villa | v | West Ham United | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | October 28 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Luton Town | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | November 4 2023 | Nottingham Forest | v | Aston Villa | West Bridgford |
| Saturday | November 11 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Fulham | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | November 25 2023 | Tottenham Hotspur | v | Aston Villa | Tottenham |
| Saturday | December 2 2023 | AFC Bournemouth | v | Aston Villa | Kings Park, Boscombe |
| Tuesday | December 5 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Manchester City | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | December 9 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Arsenal | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | December 16 2023 | Brentford | v | Aston Villa | Brentford |
| Saturday | December 23 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Sheffield United | Aston, Birmingham |
| Tuesday | December 26 2023 | Manchester United | v | Aston Villa | Trafford, Greater Manchester |
| Saturday | December 30 2023 | Aston Villa | v | Burnley | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | January 13 2024 | Everton | v | Aston Villa | Liverpool |
| Tuesday | January 30 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Newcastle United | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | February 3 2024 | Sheffield United | v | Aston Villa | Sheffield |
| Saturday | February 10 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Manchester United | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | February 17 2024 | Fulham | v | Aston Villa | Fulham |
| Saturday | February 24 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Nottingham Forest | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | March 2 2024 | Luton Town |
v |
Aston Villa | Luton |
| Saturday | March 9 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Tottenham Hotspur | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | March 16 2024 | West Ham United | v | Aston Villa | Stratford, London |
| Saturday | March 30 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Aston, Birmingham |
| Wednesday | April 3 2024 | Manchester City | v | Aston Villa | Manchester |
| Saturday | April 6 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Brentford | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | April 13 2024 | Arsenal | v | Aston Villa | Holloway, London |
| Saturday | April 20 2024 | Aston Villa | v | AFC Bournemouth | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | April 27 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Chelsea | Aston, Birmingham |
| Saturday | May 4 2024 | Brighton & Hove Albion | v | Aston Villa | Falmer |
| Saturday | May 11 2024 | Aston Villa | v | Liverpool | Aston, Birmingham |
| Sunday | May 19 2024 | Crystal Palace | v | Aston Villa | Selhurst |
Not many high profile exits are expected from Aston Villa this summer. However, arguably their most crucial player in Emiliano Martínez is being linked away in search of Champions League football. Manchester United and Chelsea are the clubs interested.
In terms of addition a whole lot are being linked. With the arrival of Tielemans it would be interesting to see if any other addition would be made in the middle of the park. However, the names linked are James Ward-Prowse, Habib Diarra, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Arthur Melo.
For the attack names such as Kang-in Lee, Nico Williams, Gonçalo Ramos, Hirving Lozano and João Félix are being linked. This is largely due to the fact that Marco Asensio was signed by PSG who was considered a dream signing.
Aston Villa 2023/24 season squad (at the time of writing)
| No. | Name | Position | Nationality | Place of birth | Date of birth | Age | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | Contract until |
Goalkeepers |
||||||||||
| 1 | Emiliano Martínez | GK | Argentina | Mar del Plata | 2 September 1992 | 30 | Arsenal | 16 September 2020 | £17,000,000 | 30 June 2027 |
| 25 | Robin Olsen | GK | Sweden | Malmö | 8 January 1990 | 33 | Italy Roma | 4 June 2022 | £3,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 38 | Viljami Sinisalo | GK | Finland | Hyvinkää | 11 October 2001 | 21 | Academy | 1 July 2021 | — | 30 June 2025 |
| 42 | Filip Marschall | GK | England | Cambridge | 24 April 2003 | 20 | Academy | 1 July 2023 | — | 30 June 2027 |
Defenders |
||||||||||
| 2 | Matty Cash | RB | Poland | England Slough | 7 August 1997 | 25 | Nottingham Forest | 3 September 2020 | £14,000,000 | 30 June 2027 |
| 3 | Diego Carlos | CB | Brazil | Barra Bonita | 15 March 1993 | 30 | Spain Sevilla | 10 June 2022 | £31,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 4 | Ezri Konsa | CB | England | Newham | 23 October 1997 | 25 | Brentford | 11 July 2019 | £13,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 5 | Tyrone Mings | CB | England | Bath | 13 March 1993 | 30 | Bournemouth | 8 July 2019 | £22,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 15 | Álex Moreno | LB | Spain | Sant Sadurní d’Anoia | 8 June 1993 | 30 | Spain Real Betis | 11 January 2023 | £13,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 16 | Calum Chambers | CB | England | Petersfield | 20 January 1995 | 28 | Arsenal | 27 January 2022 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2025 |
| 27 | Lucas Digne | LB | France | Meaux | 20 July 1993 | 29 | Everton | 13 January 2022 | £30,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 29 | Kaine Kesler-Hayden | RB | England | Birmingham | 23 October 2002 | 20 | Academy | 1 July 2021 | — | 30 June 2026 |
| 30 | Kortney Hause | CB | England | Goodmayes | 16 July 1995 | 27 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 17 June 2019 | £3,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 45 | Ben Chrisene | LB | England | Exeter | 12 January 2004 | 19 | Exeter City | 19 August 2020 | £450,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 50 | Sil Swinkels | CB | Netherlands | Sint-Oedenrode | 6 January 2004 | 19 | Netherlands Vitesse | 1 July 2020 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2025 |
| 59 | Josh Feeney | CB | England | Fleetwood | 6 May 2005 | 18 | Fleetwood Town | 6 July 2021 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2025 |
| 63 | Kerr Smith | CB | Scotland | Montrose | 12 December 2004 | 18 | Scotland Dundee United | 14 January 2022 | £2,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
Midfielders |
||||||||||
| 6 | Douglas Luiz | CM | Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | 9 May 1998 | 25 | Manchester City | 25 July 2019 | £16,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 7 | John McGinn (c) | CM | Scotland | Glasgow | 18 October 1994 | 28 | Scotland Hibernian | 8 August 2018 | £3,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 8 | Morgan Sanson | CM | France | Saint-Doulchard | 18 August 1994 | 28 | France Marseille | 26 January 2021 | £15,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 19 | Marvelous Nakamba | DM | Zimbabwe | Hwange | 19 January 1994 | 29 | Belgium Club Brugge | 1 August 2019 | £12,000,000 | 30 June 2024 |
| 32 | Leander Dendoncker | DM | Belgium | Passendale | 15 April 1995 | 28 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 September 2022 | £13,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 36 | Lamare Bogarde | DM | Netherlands | Rotterdam | 5 January 2004 | 19 | Netherlands Feyenoord | 1 September 2020 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2026 |
| 37 | Finn Azaz | CM | Republic of Ireland | England Westminster | 7 September 2000 | 22 | West Bromwich Albion | 26 July 2021 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2026 |
| 40 | Aaron Ramsey | CM | England | Great Barr | 21 January 2003 | 20 | Academy | 1 July 2021 |
— |
30 June 2025 |
| 41 | Jacob Ramsey | CM | England | Great Barr | 28 May 2001 | 22 | Academy | 1 July 2020 | — | 30 June 2027 |
| 44 | Boubacar Kamara | DM | France | Marseille | 23 November 1999 | 23 | France Marseille | 1 July 2022 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2027 |
| 47 | Tim Iroegbunam | CM | England | Great Barr | 30 June 2003 | 19 | Academy | 1 July 2022 | — | 30 June 2027 |
| 68 | Edward Rowe | CM | England | Birmingham | 17 October 2003 | 19 | Academy | 1 July 2021 | — | 30 June 2025 |
| — | Youri Tielemans | CM | Belgium | Sint-Pieters-Leeuw | 7 May 1997 | 26 | Leicester City | 1 July 2023 | Free Transfer | 30 June 2027 |
Forwards |
||||||||||
| 9 | Bertrand Traoré | RW | Burkina Faso | Bobo-Dioulasso | 6 September 1995 | 27 | France Lyon | 19 September 2020 | £18,000,000 | 30 June 2024 |
| 10 | Emiliano Buendía | RW | Argentina | Mar del Plata | 25 December 1996 | 26 | Norwich City | 10 June 2021 | £38,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 11 | Ollie Watkins | CF | England | Torquay | 30 December 1995 | 27 | Brentford | 9 September 2020 | £34,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 22 | Jhon Durán | CF | Colombia | Medellín | 13 December 2003 | 19 | United States Chicago Fire | 23 January 2023 | £14,750,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 23 | Philippe Coutinho | LW | Brazil | Rio de Janeiro | 12 June 1992 | 31 | Spain Barcelona | 10 June 2022 | £20,000,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| 31 | Leon Bailey | LW | Jamaica | Kingston | 9 August 1997 | 25 | Germany Bayer Leverkusen | 4 August 2021 | £32,000,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 35 | Cameron Archer | CF | England | Walsall | 9 December 2001 | 21 | Academy | 1 July 2021 | — | 30 June 2027 |
| 39 | Keinan Davis | CF | England | Stevenage | 13 February 1998 | 25 | Academy | 1 July 2017 | — | 30 June 2024 |
| 62 | Ajani Burchall | RW | Bermuda | Hamilton | 5 November 2004 | 18 | Bournemouth | 9 July 2021 | £125,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 71 | Omari Kellyman | RW | Northern Ireland | England Derby | 25 September 2005 | 17 | Derby County | 6 March 2022 | £600,000 | 30 June 2025 |
| 72 | Kadan Young | RW | England | Erdington | 19 January 2006 | 17 | Academy | 1 July 2023 | — | 30 June 2025 |
| 75 | Rory Wilson | CF | Scotland | Girvan |
5 January 2006 |
17 | Scotland Rangers | 1 July 2022 | £350,000 | 30 June 2026 |
| — | Wesley | CF | Brazil | Juiz de Fora | 24 November 1996 | 26 | Belgium Club Brugge | 1 July 2019 | £25,000,000 | 30 June 2024 |
| — | Jaden Philogene | RW | England | Hammersmith | 8 February 2002 | 21 | Academy | 1 July 2021 | — | 30 June 2026 |
| — | Louie Barry | LW | England | Sutton Coldfield | 21 June 2003 | 19 | Spain Barcelona | 23 January 2020 | £880,000 | 30 June 2024 |
All things considered, as an early prediction, Aston Villa should probably go on a deeper run in the Conference League. A lot would depend on their signings, if they are able to keep up their league performances.
