Aston Villa

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa will look to keep their Premier League title aspirations alive on Sunday at Villa Park when they welcome an Everton team that has lost momentum in 2026.

Villa are six points back on league leaders Arsenal and, after a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace last time out in the top flight, they earned a 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.

Everton finished 2025 in eighth and with optimism. However, a wretched week of home games – defeats by Brentford and Sunderland (in the FA Cup) sandwiched a draw with bottom club Wolves – has led to simmering frustrations at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Attacking duo integral to Villa

When these two teams met at Everton in September, Villa looked listless in attack in a 0-0 draw. In the months following, they've been revitalised. Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia have been key to that change.

After a slow start, Rogers has been one of the best attacking players in the division this term. He leads Villa for goals and assists, with eight and six respectively in all competitions.

The England international is yet to score against Everton in three attempts. But for Buendia, the Toffees are among his favourite opposition; the midfielder has a career-best three goals against them in the Premier League.

Buendia's return to form and fitness this season has been vital to Unai Emery's side. His 10 goal involvements – including the dramatic late winner over Arsenal – already match his best total for a season since moving to Villa Park.

The duo have showcased their individual brilliance as part of a well-oiled machine. Villa have been canny throughout the season no matter what the situation, gaining the most points from losing positions and dropping the fewest from winning positions.

Can Grealish inspire Everton?

After three poor results in seven days at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton may not mind getting out on the road.

Under David Moyes, the team won nine away matches in 2025. Only Villa, Arsenal and Crystal Palace registered more.

Villa have not been a good match-up for Everton since their return to the top flight in 2019 though. The Toffees have not won any of the past 13 meetings in the Premier League.

Emery and his team are formidable at Villa Park too. Villa have won 23 and drawn four of their last 28 matches there; it's the best home record of any team in Europe since the beginning of last year.

Moyes will be looking to former Villa captain Jack Grealish for inspiration, as he'll be without Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Grealish, who joined the Villa academy as a six-year-old and made 213 appearances for the club, is available again after a suspension. He is yet to score in any of his five appearances against his boyhood club for Manchester City and Everton. He has been booked in his last three games against them though.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara's knee injury could be worse than first feared.

Boss Unai Emery has confirmed the 26-year-old is seeing doctors to discover the extent of the problem.

Kamara was forced off early in the FA Cup third round win at Tottenham on Saturday after a challenge with Joao Palhinha. Villa were hoping he would initially be out for three weeks.

"Kamara is out, it is his knee," said Emery before Sunday's visit of Everton. "We are checking him and he is visiting some doctors and we are going to know about him in a few days.

"Of course he's not available and maybe for a long time, hopefully not so so long time but we are checking him."

Kamara previously missed eight months in 2024 after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Manchester United.

He joined on a free transfer from Marseille in 2022 with Villa beating Atletico Madrid to his signature.

The problem adds to Villa's midfield issues with Amadou Onana also struggling with a hamstring injury and out of the game with the Toffees.

Villa wanted to bring Conor Gallagher in but lost out to Tottenham, who signed the England international for £35m from Atletico Madrid earlier this week.

They have also sold forward Donyell Malen to Roma on loan with an obligation for the Serie A club to buy him for around £21m.

Villa have been linked with Roma forward and former loanee Tammy Abraham - who is on loan at Besiktas in Turkey - and Emery confirmed he is in the market for a striker.

He said: "The priority is someone as a central attacking player, a striker, with the characteristics as a striker and to compete with [Ollie] Watkins or maybe even play with him.

"Now Malen has left another player can help us with numbers in the squad."

Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Everton at Villa Park (kick-off 16:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Unai Emery has confirmed Boubacar Kamara is unavailable due to a knee injury and the club will know more in a couple of days.

• Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Emiliano Martinez are "pressing well" for their returns. However, Onana and Barkley are ruled out for Everton while Martinez will be assessed on Saturday.

• January signing Alysson is in a "little bit of pain" and won't be ready for Sunday.

• Emery on the January transfer window: "I want to speak more about Everton on Sunday. The transfer window is important but not a 'now objective'. We are working it, we did something of course as [Donyell] Malen left and we are trying as well to do some deals but the most important is the players we have."

• On allowing Malen to leave: "It's a tough decision but it makes sense. There are three parts involved in the decision - firstly the player, he was helping us, scoring goals, not being consistent in the starting 11 but for me he was very important and he knew it. I spoke with him a lot. Second part is about the player, he was happy but not enough like he wanted. He opened his door to listen in case something can give him something better than us and the last part is the club and for the club it's a good deal. For me I preferred him to stay here but I accept it. It's a good deal for the club and it's a good deal for him."

• Villa could set a club record 12 consecutive home wins should they beat Everton but Emery says his team aim for three points at a time, and only focus on this consistency in order to compete for the "top positions in the Premier League."

• Emery said he has created "something special" with supporters since he joined the club three years ago and his team "need Villa Park" on Sunday.

• On Everton: "They are performing very well away and competing fantastically. They have two players involved in the Africa Cup of Nations and some players maybe out injured or suspended but I think they are competing fantastically. A team always difficult [to play]. We focus on this match after 10 days of not playing in the Premier League, we remind ourselves of the importance of this competition and it is the priority for us. Everton is the next step forward."

Hear more from Emery on BBC Sounds

Listen to commentary of Aston Villa v Everton at 16:30 on Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your views on Donyell Malen joining Roma and whether it was unexpected given his contributions to Aston Villa this season.

Here are some of your comments:

Mike: He may have struggled for game time, but unless this move signals an incoming upgrade it might come back to bite us.

Chris: Disappointed but not surprised by Malen's departure. He wants more minutes to strengthen his bid for a World Cup place and Emery is not going to give that to him. The fee does not seem that high given his performances. However, I do not believe for a second that Unai Emery does not have a plan here. Someone is going to replace Malen and it has to be an upgrade.

Paul: He is a great player that wants more game time. You cannot blame him for that. He does not want to play second fiddle to Ollie Watkins.

Barry: Disappointed. He is a very good player, a goalscorer and someone who I felt could challenge Ollie Watkins for a starting berth. We are now leaving ourselves short with our striking options. I am assuming Emery must have someone else in mind?

Cassie: Surprised by Malen signing for Roma. Hopefully Villa have a player or two which they hope to sign, because if not they will be in trouble with a reduced squad. Tammy Abraham is an average player, but is he our only option?

Martin: I like Malen and he would be staying if it was not for PSR. The problem we have got is we are vulnerable from set pieces when Amadou Onana or Tyrone Mings are not playing. In the Championship, Abraham was a giant defending set pieces for us. If Tammy arrives, it is very shrewd business.

Andrew: Utterly perplexing considering his excellent goals and assists return when given very limited game time by Emery. A high quality player and an excellent professional, so most Villa fans are sorry to see him go. The club may well come to regret this strategic decision, unless an outstanding replacement is on his way before the end of the transfer window.

Image source, Getty Images

Donyell Malen has joined Roma from Aston Villa after just one year with the Premier League side.

The 26-year-old forward, who signed from Borussia Dortmund in January 2025, has scored seven goals for Villa this season but has struggled for regular playing time.

While Villa say the deal is for an undisclosed fee, a Roma statement says it is a loan with an option to buy.

What do you make of Malen's departure? Is it a shock given his goalscoring contributions this season, or did you always expect him to be moved on in this window?

Get in touch with your views here

Aston Villa want to seal a permanent deal for England striker Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma. The 28-year-old spent 2018-19 on loan at Villa and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League. (Times - subscription required), external

Villa could move for Real Madrid and Spain midfielder Dani Ceballos, 29, after missing out on signing Conor Gallagher. (Talksport), external

Sheffield United have registered their interest in England midfielder Ross Barkley, 32, who is struggling for regular game time at Aston Villa. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

With more than half of the season gone, we have enough stats to get a good idea of how well Premier League teams have been playing and therefore how things will likely unfold in the months ahead.

Expected goals tells us how well teams do the basics of football by creating lots of good chances up front and limiting their opponents to few, difficult ones at the back.

With the figures based on how Premier League teams have performed in the past, history shows that the higher a team's xG difference - the more they dominate games - the more chance they have of success.

If we compare teams' xG difference with the points they have taken this season, we can clearly see in the chart below that the majority of sides' results align closely with their general performance.

But there are three teams who have so far defied their xG numbers, in either a good way, or a bad way: Aston Villa, Sunderland and Wolves.

Aston Villa and Sunderland have almost certainly achieved their season objectives already, with Opta giving Villa a 96% chance of Champions League football and the Black Cats a 99% chance of survival.

This is not about whether the two sides "deserve" to be where they are in the table. The fact that they have scored and kept out the goals they have means they have earned those positions, thanks in part to Villa's elite long-range finishing and Sunderland keeper Robin Roefs being the best shot-stopper in the league.

But what it does show is that this season's success is built on shaky ground and there is still work to be done if Villa wish to establish themselves at the top of the Premier League long-term and Sunderland are to avoid suffering second-season syndrome next season.

Villa fans will rightly point out that their team has regularly overperformed their xG under Unai Emery, while Sunderland fans will claim that you cannot measure tenacity and togetherness.

At the other end, while Wolves have been playing like a team worthy of relegation, they have been far better than the tally of two points they had until recently, so it is no real surprise their results have begun to improve.

Expected goals is not perfect and there are aspects of football that can never be captured on a spreadsheet, but history shows that it has a great track record for predicting a team's long-term success.

What else does xG predict for the rest of the Premier League season?

Roma will pay a £2m loan fee for Aston Villa forward Donyell Malen, 26, with the deal including a £25m clause to sign the Netherlands international on a permanent basis. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There are too many moving parts – or, to be more accurate, parts that may or may not move – to Aston Villa's transfer window plans to tell whether they will end the month noticeably stronger than they started it.

The only thing we know clearly so far is that Villa have placed a couple of modest bets on the future, with realistic prospects for a good return, in the signings of the teenagers Alysson and Brian Madjo.

The sudden flurry of reports of uncertainty about Donyell Malen's future may alarm Villa fans. It is possible they turn out to be no more than whispers on the wind. A regular international forward for a significant European nation and a Champions League finalist in recent memory not getting regular league starts for his club was bound to attract attention, as would-be buyers trawled the market.

There is no indication yet that Malen himself would be keen to leave, but his position does highlight one of the difficulties of bulking up Villa's squad for the demanding few months ahead.

Malen has proved a most useful alternative for Ollie Watkins, but not quite his equal. Tammy Abraham is now widely reported to be a Villa target. But the Venn diagram of players both just about as good as Watkins, but on big days prepared to wait in line behind him to step in only if he sneezes, must have quite a small intersection.

Yes, there should be enough football left in Villa's season to give everyone a fair chance and it's a squad game and workloads need to be managed. All that is undeniably true and fair enough, but you can be sure that the best players just want to play.

Finding the right personalities to work so well in such an intense environment does not seem to cause Villa problems. On Saturday night in primetime, Villa demonstrated to a wider television audience that while they may not have quite as many superstar names as some of their rivals, their ensemble cast put on a great show.

Such is their form, it would be surprising if there was not at least some gossiped interest in more of their regulars before the month was out. Perhaps, given their position in relation to financial limits, Villa may be sent an offer that gives them useful room to manoeuvre.

Suitors may find though, that for players in their front rank at least, Villa at this moment is a party it's hard to leave just now.

Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Everton at 16:30 on Sunday on BBC Radio WM

And tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Explore Aston Villa content on BBC Radio Sounds

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Mikel Merino should have received a second yellow card in Arsenal's 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa on 30 December, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has said.

The Gunners were leading 2-0 in the 58th minute when Merino pulled back Morgan Rogers.

Referee Darren England opted not to book the Spain international, meaning he escaped a red card.

The panel said, on a unanimous 5-0 vote, that Merino "clearly stopped a promising attack, by pulling the arm of Rogers, and a second caution should have been awarded".

The video assistant referee (VAR) is unable to intervene on second yellow cards.

The KMI Panel's rulings for the first half of the campaign show Mikel Arteta's side benefited from one VAR error. Everton should have been given a penalty in Arsenal's 1-0 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium last month.

The Gunners did not suffer any VAR mistakes.

Aston Villa have no logged VAR errors for or against them so far this season.

David Michael
Fan writer

The curse of Aston Villa's winless black away kit may have lifted with their FA Cup third-round win against Spurs, but Boubacar Kamara limping off after just eight minutes left many feeling the curse had the last laugh.

Kamara has been prone to lengthy spells on the sidelines through injury in each of his three seasons at Villa, averaging 23 games per season.

With the midfielder already on 18 league appearances and on course for his first 30-plus league-game season for Villa, following his fundamental influence on Villa's recent turnaround, a fully fit Kamara feels essential if Unai Emery's team are to fulfil the season's potential in the final stretch.

With Amadou Onana also set for a spell on the sidelines, the prospect of a serious Kamara injury could hardly have come at a worse time.

While transfer rumours have linked Villa with an interest in Conor Gallagher, who would have represented a timely and logical addition even on loan, the same player appears in multiple transfer stories involving several other clubs, which tempers expectations.

Encouraging news emerging from Villa this week suggests Kamara will miss no more than three weeks.

While far from ideal, it is manageable, particularly given how well Villa dominated Spurs after he left the pitch for the remainder of the first half.

Considering how pivotal the absence of both Onana and Kamara would have been, Villa can at least avoid taking emergency action in the January window to prevent their season from derailing.

Instead, they can focus whatever PSR headroom they have on addressing the need for a striker.

The rebirth of another old transfer link to Tammy Abraham, if true, would actually make more sense.

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Middlesbrough have won the race to sign Aston Villa defender Finley Munroe.

The 20-year-old is expected to sign a long-term deal at the Riverside after Boro agreed a deal of around £300,000 with Villa.

Bristol City also made an offer but the left-back is heading to the north east, with the deal also including a large sell-on fee.

Munroe will become Boro's second January signing after midfielder Leo Castledine joined the Championship promotion hopefuls from Chelsea last week.

He was recalled from his loan at Swindon on Monday ahead of his expected permanent move from Villa Park.

Munroe made 27 appearances for Swindon, scoring twice, with Ian Holloway's side second in League Two and five points behind leaders Bromley.

He joined Villa after leaving Chelsea's academy in 2021 and made two senior appearances for the club.

His debut came as a late substitute in the Europa Conference League semi-final defeat at Olympiakos, before coming on in the Premier League against Crystal Palace in May 2024.

They came after he signed a new contract while he spent last season on loan at Real Union, Villa's sister club in Spain.

Roma have agreed a loan deal with an option to buy Aston Villa and Netherlands forward Donyell Malen, 26, for 28.5m euros (£24.6m). (Sky Sports Italia), external

England and Roma striker Tammy Abraham, 28, who is currently on loan with Besiktas, is keen on returning to England with Aston Villa a potential suitor. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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The draw for the FA Cup fourth round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties involving Premier League teams in the order they were drawn.

The matches will be played over the weekend of 14 February.

• Liverpool/Barnsley v Brighton

• Stoke City v Fulham

• Oxford United v Sunderland

• Arsenal v Wigan Athletic

• Hull City v Chelsea

• Burton Albion v West Ham

• Burnley v Mansfield Town

• Grimsby Town v Wolves

• Aston Villa v Newcastle

• Manchester City v Salford City/Swindon Town

• Macclesfield v Brentford

• Birmingham City v Leeds

See the full draw