Aston Villa are currently sitting outside of the play-off places in the Championship.
Stephen Warnock believes Aston Villa have ‘arguably the best squad in the league’ as he expects Dean Smith’s side to have ‘ups and downs’ this season.
The Midlands outfit, who lost the Championship play-off final to Fulham in May, had Steve Bruce in charge at the start of the campaign before he was dismissed in October.
Since Smith’s arrival from Brentford, Villa have been a free-scoring team with mixed results, from beating Middlesbrough and Derby on their own patch to squandering a two-goal lead at home to Leeds United.
Former Villa defender Warnock was adamant that Smith’s side can secure a top-six finish as he explained why results will be a little indifferent for the time being.
“Yes they are [top-six candidates],” Warnock told Sky Sports News on 27/12/2018 at 11:25 am. “Arguably one of the best squad, if not the best squad within the league.
“They are going to have a few ups and downs trying to adjust to the way Dean Smith wants to play his football. But them players are high on confidence at the moment.”
Villa have a number of Premier League players on loan this season, from Everton’s Yannick Bolasie, Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe.
All three have been regulars during this season, with striker Abraham being the standout performer because of the volume of goals he is scoring.
The Chelsea loanee has netted 13 goals from his 17 league games during this campaign – in his last eight matches, he has found the back of the net on nine occasions.
Despite Villa being such a threat in the final third, they have struggled to keep the ball out of their own net, conceding 37 goals already this season – four less than what they conceded during the previous campaign.
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