Aston Villa are mounting what is turning into an unexpected Premier League title challenge with Unai Emery’s side attempting to pull off what would be the biggest upset in the top flight in eight years.
Not since Leicester City transformed from relegation candidates to English champions has the form guide been ripped up so emphatically, leading to comparisons between the famous 2015-16 campaign and the one currently being impressively crafted at Villa Park.
While the two clubs have taken very different paths in their respective title challenges, the numbers behind both their stories are remarkably similar, fuelling hopes that Villa can sustain their assault through the second half of the season – particularly after already taking down two of their three main rivals in current leaders Arsenal and reigning champions Manchester City.
The table doesn’t lie
It was a 3-2 win at Everton on December 19 which enabled Leicester City to spend Christmas Day peering down from the top of the table. Even at that stage, many of the critics said it was unsustainable, and that Leicester would fall away with the festive decorations.
Villa will be league leaders if they beat Sheffield United on Friday night, and then witness Liverpool and Arsenal sharing a point the following evening.
