Roberto Di Matteo’s leads Villa for the first time.

This is Villa’s first game in the second tier of English football for 29 years.

Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, 21, drops a clanger on his Villa debut to gift Wednesday the win after joining from Hellas Verona for a fee of £4,500,000 in July 2016 to become the 889th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Centre Tommy Elphick makes his Villa debut aged 28 after joining from AFC Bournemouth for a fee of £3,510,000 in July 2016 to become the 890th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Midfielder Aaron Tshibola makes his Villa debut aged 21 as a 70’ substitute after his inexplicable signing from Reading for a fee of £5,310,000 in July 2016 to become the 891st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Tshibola's arrival had strong echoes of that of Michael Boulding in 2002 where a player of clearly insufficient quality was brought into the club, unlike Boulding however, Tshibola cost big money. The idiocy of the previous regime was clearly not completely over.

Forward Ross McCormack makes his Villa debut aged 29 after joining from Fulham for a fee of £12,870,000 earlier this month to become the 892nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Alan Hutton makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (93 Starts) to make it W18 D25 L57, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 25 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (78 Starts) to make it W27 D20 L53, 6 Goals, 6 Assists and 17 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Westwood loses for the 75th time in a Villa shirt on his 140th appearance (134 Starts) to make it W37 D28 L75, 5 Goals, 12 Assists and 24 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Former Villa midfielder Barry Bannan lines up for Wednesday.

Villa make it two defeats from two in all competitions as questions are asked once again and suspicion abounds.

Villa’s earliest entry into the League Cup ever and consequently their earliest ever exit from the competition since its inauguration in 1960.

Mark Bunn concedes his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 13th appearance to make it W3 D4 L6, 25 Goals Conceded, 4 Clean Sheets and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ross McCormack collects his first booking in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D0 L2, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Despite having refused to play for Villa again just 5 months earlier, troublesome centre back Jores Okore makes his 47th and final appearance for Villa (43 Starts) aged 24 before moving on to FC Copenhagen on a free transfer later this month. Villa had paid FC Nordsjaelland £4,230,000 for Okore’s services in July 2013 and following a controversy and injury ravaged spell across his 3 seasons with the club left with a record of W13 D11 L23, 1 Goal, 8 Bookings and 1 Own Goal. Okore's own goal came on what would prove to be his final appearance, with an easily avoidable error, that led to incredulity from his teammates during the match amd that attracted comment during and after the game as Villa fell to lower league opposition seemingly without a fight. Okore would later be accused of match fixing at Aalborg Boldspilklub.

Jordan Ayew suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 38th appearance (32 Starts) to make it W5 D8 L25, 8 Goals, 8 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa secure their first second tier win since beating Bradford City 1-0 on Monday, 2 May 1988.

Centre back James Chester makes his debut for Villa aged 27 after joining from West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £8,370,000 earlier his month to become the 893rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Jack Grealish scores his 2nd goal in a Villa shirt on his 49th appearance (24 Starts) to make it W16 D4 L29, 2 Goals, 5 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Pierluigi Gollini keeps his first clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W1 D0 L1, 1 Goal Conceded, 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

Winger Adama Traoré made his final appearance for Villa aged 20 before moving on to Middlesbrough for a fee of £7,430,000 later this month. Traoré made 1 start, 11 substitute appearances and scored once. Villa had paid Barcelona a scarcely believable £9,000,000 for Traoré’s services a year earlier in August 2015. Villa wouldn’t be the last club to spend big on this most ineffective and disruptive of players who left with a record of W2 D1 L9, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking.

Ross McCormack’s first three games following his £12,870,000 move have now contributed no goals, one assist, two bookings and a half time hook to leave a record of W1 D0 L2 so far in his Villa career.

Aly Cissokho contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 48th appearance (47 Starts) to make it W10 D9 L29, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it one defeat, a win and a draw in Roberto Di Matteo's first three Championship games.

The game is overshadowed by the news that legendary Villa centre forward Dalian Atkinson has been murdered by police officers outside his father's house. 

Jack Grealish makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (25 Starts) to make it W16 D5 L29, 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ross McCormack scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W1 D1 L2, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Former Villa midfielder Jonathan Hogg lined up for Huddersfield.

Villa record a second successive draw as their Championship campaign under Roberto Di Matteo gets off to a slow start.

Aly Cissokho makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt on his (49 Starts) to make it W10 D11 L29, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Roberto Di Matteo has delivered two draws, a win and a loss in his first four league games as well as a first round exit from the League cup with Villa clearly taking time to settle in the second tier and under the new manager’s methods. 

Ross McCormack picks up his third booking in five games.

Former Villa ‘keeper Scott Carson lined up for Derby with former Villa record signing - centre forward Darren Bent - coming on as a 77’ substitute for the Rams.

Villa lose for the second time in 5 Championship games under Roberto Di Matteo having won once.

Despite an early Jack Grealish goal Roberto Di Matteo loses his 2nd league game of the campaign having drawn 2 and won 1 to leave Villa in 16th place in the second tier and already well off the promotion pace. 

Midfielder Mile Jedinak makes his Villa debut aged 32 after joining from Crystal Palace for a fee of £4,140,000 earlier this month to become the 894th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Right back Ritchie De Laet makes his Villa debut aged 27 after joining from Leicester City for a fee of £2,070,000 earlier this month to become the 895th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Libor Kozák makes his 22nd and final appearance for Villa (12 Starts) after an injury ravaged 3 seasons with the club, Kozák left with a record of W6 D8 L8, 4 Goals and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Ayew collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 42nd appearance (36 Starts) to make it W6 D10 L26, 8 Goals, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Jack Grealish collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 52nd appearance (27 Starts) to leave the much hyped midfielder with as many cards as assists in his nascent Villa career with a record of W16 D6 L30, 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 104th appearance (82 Starts) to make it W28 D22 L54, 6 Goals, 7 Assists and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Amavi suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (12 Starts) to make it W2 D3 L10, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Aly Cissokho suffers his 30th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 50th start (51 Appearances) to make it W10 D9 L30, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Future Villa centre forward Tammy Abraham scores Bristol City’s opener whilst fellow future Villa centre forward Jonathan Kodjia is left out of the squad pending his transfer.

Villa, without a win in four Championship games, draw for the third time under Roberto Di Matteo and slump to 17th in the league. 

Centre forward Jonathan Kodjia makes his Villa debut aged 26 after joining from Bristol City for a fee of £11,610,000 in August 2016 to become the 896th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Jordan Ayew contribute his first assists in a Villa shirt on his 43rd appearance (37 Starts) to make it W6 D11 L26, 8 Goals, 2 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Future Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury scored Forest’s 87’ equaliser whilst former Villa defender Eric Lichaj lines up for them.

Villa draw for the fourth time in five winless Championship matches as the concerningly slow start to life in the second tier under Roberto Di Matteo continues.

New signings Mile Jedinak and Jonathan Kodjia combine for the latter to score his first goal for the club but it’s not enough to beat future Villa boss Dean Smith’s Brentford as Roberto Di Matteo’s side make it one win in eight games.

Jonathan Kodjia scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D2 L0 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Mile Jedinak contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D1 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Record signing Ross McCormack is taken off at half time for the second time in 7 games. 

Gary Gardner makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (9 Starts) to make it W5 D10 L10, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Future Villa forward Scott Hogan lines up for Brentford.

Villa's awful start to life outside the top flight continues as their winless run stretches to 9 with defeat at Preston. 

Unlike the Lerner regime however the reaction of the owner is swift and Roberto Di Matteo is sacked just 12 games into his hopeless tenure.

Roberto Di Matteo presided over 1 win in 11 league games, 5 games with goal concessions after 85', 3 losses, 7 draws and the earliest League Cup exit in the club's history.  

Even following the appalling managerial appointments from 2010 to 2015 that was some record.

Di Matteo was a deeply underwhelming appointment with more than a whiff of Champions League glamour hiding a fundamentally weak approach.

Di Matteo never looked like he was the man to turn Villa around after a half decade of incompetence. 

In truth Di Matteo was not bold enough, too many of the abject 2015-16 squad remained and continued to play and influence the dressing room. Some of that was beyond Di Matteo’s control as even the most celebrated of managers would have struggled with the deadwood drifting around Villa Park however with money spent, results were limited and recruitment was questionable in the extreme. 

For every Jonathan Kodjia - although yet to spark under Di Matteo - James Chester and Tommy Elphick there was a Ross McCormack or even more bewilderingly an Aaron Tshibola. Di Matteo simply seemed out of his depth in every department and so it proved. 

Ashley Westwood collects his 25th booking on his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (143 Starts) to make it W38 D35 L77, 5 Goals, 12 Assists and 25 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

James Chester makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W1 D7 L2 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Former Villa midfielder Daniel Johnson and former Villa centre forward Callum Robinson lined up for Preston.

Roberto Di Matteo is sacked by Dr Tony Xia is sacked after a dismal 12 game spell as manager - the shortest managerial reign in Villa's history - during which time he recorded W1 D7 L5 at a rate of 0.83 points per game.

Five years previously the appointment of Steve Bruce would have caused riots in the streets however needs must and the experienced second tier specialist, parachuted in to a free-falling Villa, leads the team for the firs time -  whether popular or not, Villa had made their first astute managerial appointment in a decade.

Jonathan Kodjia scores his second goal of the season in Steve Bruce’s first game in charge but he can’t change the trend as Villa draw for the eighth time in ten games. 

Ross McCormack makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (9 Starts) to make it W1 D5 L4, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Future Villa centre back Kortney Hause lined up for Wolves.

Micah Richards makes his 31st and final appearance in a Villa shirt (29 Starts) to leave with a record of W4 D6 L21, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 3 Bookings. Richards' wins had come in 2015-16 against newly promoted Bournemouth and lower League clubs Birmingham and Wycombe and fellow relegated side Norwich. Richards had proved an unmitigated disaster with poor performances combined with high wages and an almost permanent presence in the treatment room. Frustratingly, Richards would not leave the club until July 2019 having continued to receive his hefty remuneration whilst contributing nothing in a Villa shirt for over 3 years.

Villa win for the 1st time in 11 games as Steve Bruce starts his tenure unbeaten in 2.

Jonathan Kodjia secures his first win in a Villa shirt after 8 appearances to make it W1 D6 L1, 3 Goals and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Albert Adomah contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W1 D4 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Ayew scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 49th appearance (42 Starts) to make it W7 D15 L27, 10 Goals, 3 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa win their second game of the season at the eleventh attempt as Steve Bruce secures his first win.

Another of the relegation mob bites the dust as left back Aly Cissokho makes his final appearance for Villa aged 29 before moving on to Yeni Malatyaspor in August 2017 on a free transfer. Villa had signed Cissokho under Paul Lambert in August 2014 from Valencia CF for a fee of £2,250,000 and he made 58 appearances (2 Starts) in his 3 seasons with the club to leave with a record of W11 D16 L31, 1 Assist, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Meanwhile, in a surprise to nobody, another one of the culpable party, Micah Richards’ first start in 6 months results in an injury and subsequent absence from the squad. 

Villa win consecutive games for the first time this season as Steve Bruce makes an excellent start to his Villa career.

Jordan Ayew makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (43 Starts) to make it W8 D15 L27, 10 Goals, 3 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Jonathan Kodjia scores his third goal in as many games to make it P9 W2 D6 L1, 4 Goals and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Alan Hutton secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 105th appearance (96 Starts) to make it W20 D26 L59, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 27 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna secures his 30th win in a Villa shirt on his 110th appearance (87 Starts) to make it W30 D26 L54, 6 Goals, 7 Assists and 22 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Steve Bruce returns to the club that once idolised him and extends Villa's unbeaten run under his stewardship to four.

Villa extend their unbeaten League run against Birmingham to 9 games to make it 13 wins and 5 draws in their last 23 meetings with their neighbours dating back to 1987.

Mile Jedinak makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W2 D6 L2, 1 Assist and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gary Gardner scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 28th appearance (12 Starts) and runs the length of St Andrew's to celebrate with the away fans and make it W7 D11 L10, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor in an excellent example of Villa trolling makes his first appearance of the season after coming off the subs bench on 81'.

Steve Bruce's Villa are unbeaten in five and Villa have now lost just one game in the last eleven as they rise to 14th in the Championship table.

Jonathan Kodjia scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance to make it W4 D7 L1, 6 Goals and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ross McCormack collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 14th appearance (10 Starts) to make it W4 D6 L4, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa bounce back from their first defeat under Steve Bruce to win for the fifth time in nine games.

Jordan Ayew secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 55th appearance (46 Starts) to make it W10 D17 L28, 10 Goals, 4 Assists, 13 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Pierluigi Gollini keeps his 5th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 19th appearance to make it W6 D10 L3, 19 Goals Conceded and 5 Clean Sheets so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the second time in three but only the second time in ten under Steve Bruce, winning five, as the new boss steers them away from the danger of a second successive relegation.

Despite defeat, Steve Bruce’s first ten games in charge have seen him win five and lose twice, a significant improvement over his predecessor. 

James Chester makes his 20th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W6 D10 L4 and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini makes his final appearance for Villa aged 21 before moving on to Atalanta BC for a fee of £3,870,000 in July 2018. Gollini had only joined Villa 5 months earlier from Hellas Verona for £4,500,000 however he was deemed surplus to requirements by Steve Bruce. Gollini made 20 appearances for Villa and left with a record of W6 D10 L4, 19 Goals Conceded and 5 Clean Sheets.

Rudy Gestede suffers his 30th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 53rd appearance (26 Starts) to make it W8 D15 L30, 10 Goals, 4 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa bounce back from their second defeat in ten under Steve Bruce to secure a sixth win in eleven under the new boss.

Nathan Baker makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (92 Starts) to make it W32 D21 L47, 13 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Mark Bunn collects his 5th caution in a Villa shirt on his 16th appearance (15 Starts) to make it W4 D5 L7, 29 Goals Conceded, 5 Clean Sheets and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Jonathan Kodjia scores his 7th goal in eleven games to make it W6 D8 L3, 8 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Alan Hutton contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 113th appearance (104 Starts) to make it W24 D28 L61, 1 Goal, 5 Assists, 28 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Gary Gardner secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 33rd appearance (17 Starts) to make it W10 D12 L11, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it consecutive wins to record their seventh win in twelve Championship matches under Steve Bruce having managed just a single win in their previous twelve games under Roberto Di Matteo.

Villa face Burton Albion for the first time in competitive football, Burton become the 160th team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football.

Steve Bruce's Villa win successive Championship games for only the third time this season but they make it five home wins in a row for the first time since September 1998 under John Gregory. Villa rise to 10th in the table as a result.

Albert Adomah contributes his fifth assist in a Villa shirt on his 16th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W7 D6 L3, 1 Goal and 5 Assists so far in his Villa career.

Jack Grealish secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 64th appearance (36 Starts) to make it W20 D11 L33, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Mark Bunn concedes his 30th goal in a Villa shirt on his 17th appearance (16 Starts) to make it W5 D5 L7, 30 Goals Conceded, 5 Clean Sheets and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Alan Hutton secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 114th appearance (105 Starts) to make it W25 D28 L61, 1 Goal, 5 Assists, 28 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa end 2016 in transformed form under Steve Bruce as they make it seven wins and three draws in thirteen Championship matches under the new boss. 

Steve Bruce's Villa end the year unbeaten in three as a late Jonathan Kodjia penalty secures a point against 4th placed Leeds, as a result Villa climb to 9th as Bruce's first thirteen games continue to show a significant improvement over Di Matteo's twelve match reign. 

Jordan Amavi makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (31 Appearances) to make it W9 D9 L13, 4 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

James Chester collects his 5th booking on his 23rd appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W9 D11 L4 and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Ayew, one of the poster boys of Villa's descent into the second tier, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt, aged 25. Ayew left for Swansea in a swap deal that brought left back Neil Taylor to the club as well as £5,310,000. Villa had signed Ayew from FC Lorient in July 2015 for a fee of £10,800,000 and went on to make 58 appearances (48 Starts) to leave with a record of W11 D18 L29, 10 Goals, 4 Assists, 13 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Rudy Gestede, one of the poster boys of Villa's appalling recruitment in the last half decade, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt, aged 28. Gestede moved on to Middlesbrough for £6,390,000 having made 55 appearances, 29 as a substitute, in his two seasons with Villa to leave with a record of W9 D16 L30, 10 Goals, 4 Assists and 5 Bookings.

Villa open 2017 with a fourth defeat in fourteen under Steve Bruce as Neil Warnock's side take physicality to another level.

Ashley Westwood loses for the 80th time in a Villa shirt on his 150th start  (161 Appearances) to make it W42 D39 L80, 5 Goals, 12 Assists and 27 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ross McCormack makes his 20th appearance in a Villa shirt (13 Starts) to make it W7 D7 L6, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose in the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Premier League opposition as the reality of life in the second tier hits hard.

Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, 23, makes his Villa debut after joining on loan from Manchester United earlier this month. Johnstone becomes the 899th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Centre forward Keinan Davis, 18, makes his debut having signed from Biggleswade Town in December 2015) to become the 898th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

James Chester makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W8 D11 L6 and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa suffer successive League defeats for the first time under Steve Bruce and the first time this season as 2017 starts in less positive fashion than 2016 ended.

Steve Bruce’s Villa lose for the third game in succession.

Villa lose to Wolves for the first time since May 1978 under Ron Saunders.

Scarcely believably, the Wolves manager is one Paul Lambert - the true architect of Villa's descent to the second tier. As was so familiar to Villa supporters, Lambert was already gaslighting his new club's fans and predictably end the season below Villa in the table - despite Bruce's men finishing in their lowest placing for over forty years.

André Green makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (1 Start) to make it W1 D2 L7 so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna collects his 25th booking in a Villa shirt on his 117th appearance (93 Starts) to make it W33 D27 L57, 7 Goals, 7 Assists and 25 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Aaron Tshibola makes his 10th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (7 Starts) following his inexplicable £5,310,000 move from Reading in July. Tshibola would remain at the club until August 2019 before leaving with a record of W1 D4 L5, 1 Goal, 3 Bookings and being one of the most curious signings of all time.

Meanwhile it is reveled that two time Villa manager Graham Taylor had passed away aged 72. Taylor, a roaring success in his first spell as manager between 1987 and 1990 - taking Villa out of the second tier to Division One runners up with a record over 150 games of W69 D34 L47 at a rate of 1.61 points per game had a torrid and best forgotten second spell between 2001 and 2003. Taylor won just 19 of 60 games to make it W19 D14 L27 at a rate of 1.18 points per game - the worst performance of any Villa manager since Billy McNeill in 1986-87 - ironically the man Taylor would initially replace when arriving for his first spell in charge.

Villa ease past high flying League one side Wigan in the second round of the EFL Cup.

Birkir Bjarnason scores his 1st goal and contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance (14 Starts) to make it W6 D3 L9, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Scott Hogan scores a brace to make it 4 goals Villa shirt after 18 appearances (11 Starts) but it only comes against lower league opposition to make it W5 D3 L7, 4 Goals, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Hogan however had just 1 league goal in his first 18 games and had failed to score in the league in 11 outings.

Albert Adomah contributes his 11th assist in a Villa shirt on his 43rd appearance (33 Starts) to make it W17 D10 L16, 4 Goals, 11 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Ritchie De Laet contributes his only assists in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W2 D2 L2, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes makes his Villa debut aged 18 after coming through the youth team ranks and signing professional forms in July 2016. 

Right back Mitch Clark makes his sole appearance for Villa aged 18 after coming through the youth team ranks and signing professional forms in July 2016. Clark was released by Villa in July 2019 without making a further appearance for the club. 

Centre back Easah Suliman makes his sole appearance for Villa aged 19 as an 81’ substitute after coming through the youth team ranks and signing professional forms in July 2015. Suliman left Villa for Vitória Guimarães SC in January 2020 for an undisclosed fee without making a further appearance for the club. 

Midfielder Gary Gardner makes his final appearance for Villa aged 25 after 9 seasons with the club. Gardner made 25 starts for Villa and appeared a further 26 times as a substitute, scoring once to leave with a record of W18 D13 L15, 1 Goal and 3 Bookings. Gardner would leave Villa in July 2019 as part of a swap deal for Jota with Birmingham City. 

James Bree makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) to make it W6 D1 L3 so far in his Villa career.

Khalid Abdo, Oscar Borg and Jordan Cox make their sole squad appearances for Villa.

Second string Villa are dumped out of the EFL Cup at home by fellow Championship side Boro as Steve Bruce continues to cling on to this job with little sign of the spark needed to kick start the season.

One step forward two steps back under Steve Bruce with a home capitulation against Middlesbrough having failed to beat them two games previously with a full strength squad. 

Bruce’s mass change of personnel fail to spark Villa and selection confusion once again prove the hallmark of the season. 

Tommy Elphick is sent off on his 28th appearance in a Villa shirt (22 Starts) to make it W8 D9 L11, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 6 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Midfielder Jordan Lyden makes his 8th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (3 Starts) aged 21 ahead of being released by the club in March 2019. Lyden had signed professional forms in July 2014 after coming through the youth team ranks and left with a record of W2 D1 L5, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 0 Bookings.

Forward Ross McCormack makes his 24th and final appearance for Villa (14 Starts) aged 31 ahead of being released by the club in June 2019. McCormack had cost Villa £12,870,000 from Fulham but made just 24 appearances and scored 3 goals to leave a record of W8 D7 L9, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 5 Bookings.

Winger Corey Blackett-Taylor makes his final appearance for Villa aged 19 before being released by the club in July 2019. Blackett-Taylor had signed professional forms in July 2016 after coming through the youth team ranks and made 2 appearances for the club.