When Villa and West Ham locked horns last weekend, it felt like something of a crossroads match with both teams possessing the squads to push for the top five this campaign.
However, it was Villa who showed the superior ruthlessness and class, surging to a 4-1 victory that has created a three-point gap over sixth and kept them within four points of top spot.
Villa have now netted an astonishing 17 goals in just four league games at Villa Park, making it 11 successive victories at their West Midlands base.
Unai Emery resisted the temptation to make mass changes for the Europa Conference League tie at AZ Alkmaar which followed, Villa
replicating their 4-1 triumph versus the Hammers in what was arguably the eye-catching result of this week’s European fixtures.
There are ambitions for Villa to achieve a top-five spot and win that particular competition during 2023-24, and that will realistically require them to take advantage of such fixtures like the one on Sunday.
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Seven games have also passed by since the Hatters conceded more than twice in a Premier League fixture, while they fought back from 2-0 down to earn a share of the spoils at Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Although they rode their luck at times, Luton deserve praise for their resilience, and they are now unbeaten in two consecutive away matches in the top flight, the other being a 2-1 triumph at Everton.
Edwards is no stranger to Villa having come through the youth system at the club during his playing days, making a total of eight Premier League appearances during the 2022-23 season.
