The Villa Park side returned to the Premier League this summer and, like the Molineux side, want to finish as high up the table as they can in their first year back.
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has made clear his ambitions for the club this season, stressing that he – like manager Dean Smith – is not simply seeking to finish outside the Premier League’s bottom three (BBC Sport).
The Villa Park talisman is taking inspiration from fellow West Midlands side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were promoted in 2017-18 and enjoyed a superb season back in the top flight, finishing seventh, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and qualifying for the Europa League.
Grealish was part of the Villa side that was relegated from the Premier League in 2015-16 after finishing bottom of the table and the club endured three seasons in the Championship before picking up form in March this year and finishing in the top six before triumphing in the playoffs.
Now back in the top flight, it’s taken a little while for Villa to find their feet but they go into this weekend’s game against Manchester City on the back of two consecutive league wins and four unbeaten in all competitions.
“Before the season I sat down with the manager for around two hours and we were both on the same page,” Grealish told BBC Sport. “We did not want to come into the Premier League and just finish 17th, we want to finish as high as possible.
“Look at what our neighbours Wolves did last season, they ended up in Europe. If you look around our team, we have so much talent such as Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi.”
Villa are one of only five English clubs to have won the European Cup, in 1981-82.
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