Premier League LIVE: Aston Villa v Bournemouth, Brentford v Newcastle, Crystal Palace v Brighton & Nottingham Forest v Leeds

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A third Europa League victory from four matches on Thursday maintained Aston Villa’s recovery from their longest winless start to a season since 1969. Their home record remains formidable, with 20 wins, seven draws and only one defeat – against Crystal Palace in August – from the past 28 fixtures at Villa Park.

Nonetheless, Villa’s attacking deficiencies remain. Their tally of nine league goals is the fewest by an Unai Emery-led side after 10 top-flight matches of a season. They’d scored 17 times at this stage last season, and 26 the year before that.

Striker Ollie Watkins, left out of the latest England squad, is rightly under scrutiny for a return of one goal and no assists in 17 games since his winner away to Bournemouth in May. His faltering form is inextricably linked to a wider team issue, with Villa ranking near or at the bottom for a number of attacking metrics in the Premier League this season.