Can Villa hold off the chasing pack?

Aston Villa have still been more consistent than Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle, leaving them in an incredibly strong position.

Their stumble, though, has stopped them pulling clear of those teams, and all but ended talk of an improbable title challenge.

They host Chelsea next Wednesday and then go to Old Trafford, while they welcome Liverpool on 17 May before finishing the season at Manchester City.

Villa have been unable to pull away from the chasing pack - and draw closer to City - because they have taken only 12 points in their past eight league matches.

They have scored just eight goals during that run - with only Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Wolves scoring fewer over the same period.

Ollie Watkins has netted just once in his past 10 games, slowly reverting to his previous struggles, where he netted once in the opening 19 matches.

Morgan Rogers has also scored once in his past 10 league games and while Tammy Abraham has started strongly with two goals after his move from Roma, Villa need more creativity and ruthlessness - 11 teams have a higher xG - expected goals total.

Ultimately, underlying xG numbers almost always win and as the season has gone on, Villa's results have started to line up more closely with their general performances.

Senior Villa figures have said it does not matter if they are getting points on the board and have been irritated by the suggestion they relied too much on long range goals earlier in the season.

They have scored 13 from outside the box this season, two more than Bournemouth, but well short of Chelsea's record of 23 in 2006-07, with a conversation rate of 10.4%.

But as those goals have dried up, Villa's defence has held up, even if it is conceding too many chances.

Only the top two have shipped fewer goals - but here, Villa are exceeding expectation too.

They have a defensive xG of 38, having faced 346 shots, but have only conceded 28 goals. It means Villa are the biggest xG overperformers in the Premier League this season.

The stats do not lie - but in the final 11 games of the domestic season, Emery needs to ensure Villa continue to buck the trend.