'Trust us' - winless, goalless Villa struggle with expectations

Four matches, no wins and no goals - but the message from Aston Villa is 'trust us'.

Boss Unai Emery and the current regime have earned that, but concerns remain over their worrying start.

Saturday's 0-0 draw at Everton - with Villa fortunate to avoid defeat - left them goalless this season, and you have to look to the 11th tier of the English football pyramid and Norwich-based Acle United - who are yet to score in the Anglian Combination in Step Seven - to find the next team not to have scored.

It is the first time Villa have failed to score in five consecutive Premier League games since a run of six between December 2014 and February 2015, with the second-bottom side also suffering their worst start to a Premier League campaign since 1997-98.

Yet director of football operations Damian Vidagany felt the point at the Hill Dickinson Stadium did at least lay some foundations.

"A point that doesn't shine, yes, we need goals, of course they will come... but a point that strengthens us and our spirit," he wrote on X.

"We're working well and we'll soon improve. The first stone of a magnificent construction never attracts the attention of spectators. But it's very necessary."

That may be true and Villa still have the quality and ability to improve - Emery's track record speaks for itself - but the evidence of this season belies that.

Villa are only the fifth side in Premier League history not to score in their opening four league games, after Sheffield Wednesday (1993-94), Newcastle United (2005-06), Swansea City (2011-12) and Crystal Palace (2017-18).

Their expected goals (XG) this season is 3.07 which puts them only above bottom club Wolves' 2.63.

This comes from 40 shots, with just 10 on target and an XG of 0.08 from those efforts.

In comparison, Wolves - who have lost their opening four games - have still had one more shot on target from five less efforts, while Burnley have scored four times from their nine shots on target.

Villa have had more shots than Burnley, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Brentford and Crystal Palace but have, as yet, been unable to conjure anything significant.

The problems could be, partly, attributed to how financially restricted the club were in the summer transfer window, and Emery called for a change in the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in his programme notes for the opening game against Newcastle last month.

They were able to bring in striker Evann Guessand for £30m from Nice to aid Ollie Watkins, but the 24-year-old has yet to make an impact as he adapts.

The Frenchman has played just 105 minutes of Villa's four games for an XG of 0.07, managing one shot on target.

Watkins has an XG of 1.1 from his eight shots, while the next highest is Emi Buendia on 0.37 having played half the minutes.

At this stage of last season Villa had scored seven times and had 16 big chances, measured by Opta.

Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in November 2022 with the club 14th in the Premier League, before taking them to the Europa Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and then the Champions League, reaching the last eight last season.

This season they have lacked the intensity and urgency which has been synonymous with the side under the Spaniard. Laborious and uninspired, it has been the opposite of what to expect under the former Sevilla, Paris St-Germain, Arsenal and Villarreal boss.

Yet Villa players still found the goal during the international break - Youri Tielemans scored twice for Belgium, Matty Cash netted for Poland, while Ezri Konsa got his first England goal in their 5-0 win in Serbia.

Villa also started the season weaker after Marco Asensio - who scored eight goals in a successful loan from PSG in the second half of last season - did not return.

The forward joined Fenerbahce earlier this month, while the club also opted not to turn Marcus Rashford's loan from Manchester United into a permanent £40m move.

Villa sold midfielder Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle for £40m, leaving them depleted in attack until the deadline day loan arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott.

Against the Magpies on the opening day, they had an XG from open play of 0.08 and made just 40 successful passes in the final third.

While those stats were marginally better against Everton - 0.24 and 0.75 - there clearly needs to be a stark improvement.

Villa visit Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday - having already lost 1-0 there in the league - before travelling to Sunderland on Saturday. Another two blanks would push them into a mini crisis.

Replying to a fan on social media at the weekend Vidagany asked for patience. Emery's trusted lieutenant was right to say they had made rapid gains in the last three years but with that comes the extra expectation.

He wrote: "My humble suggestion is to ask - understanding moods are not high - to help the boys with support and memory of what they did in three amazing years. Much better years than the previous 15, 20?

"If you don't want to give them credit, I respect it. If someone wants to push us with negativity, it is OK, you also can do it. But it is useless.

"If you want to help, as you the fans are the real owners of the Villa and protectors of the club and we know you deserve more. But let me remind you that in football there are good times and not good times. And everyone can choose one way or another. I believe in Unai and my team."