Aston Villa could be in major trouble this season

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has came in for criticism, as his team have lost five consecutive Premier League games

Aston Villa suffered a 2-0 defeat at bottom of the table QPR last night to make it five consecutive defeats for the Villans.

Their horrendous run of form shows no sign of abating and they host Jekyll and Hyde Spurs at Villa Park on Sunday.

Record

The game set a new club record, as not only had the Villans suffered their fifth straight league defeat, but they have also failed to score in all five games as well.

The biggest concern for Villa is the lack of shots on target this season.

Paul Lambert’s side have had just 18 shots on target this season, the least out of any of the top-flight clubs.

Prior to their visit to Loftus Road they had had just 12 shots on target, so I suppose at least they are looking slightly more threatening.

Creativity

What struck me about Villa’s team at the start of the season was that it was very workmanlike and did not contain many flair players. That usually leads to a lack of creativity and that exactly what is currently happening in the Villa midfield.

Central midfielders Tom Cleverley, Carlos Sanchez and Ashley Westwood are not the most creative players, while on the wings Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann have played better as strikers for me. They are not going to be incredibly creative either.

Benteke

Villa now have Belgium international striker Christian Benteke back to in the team. The former-Genk striker may not yet be back to full match fitness. When he is he will get Villa goals, but he will need to be given service.

He cannot do it all on his own. He is big, strong a quick, but he is more of a traditional finisher, than someone who will take the opposition on and cause them problems that way. If Villa are going to turn their season around Benteke could be the key.

Slump

Villa are now in a major slump after starting the season off by winning three and drawing one of their opening four top-flight games. The Villans then had a difficult run of fixtures including games against Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Everton.

Everybody connected with the club must have knew those games were going to be tough and that Villa would do well to emerge from them with many points. They may have been difficult games, but those defeats have started a losing run which carried on against QPR last night.

The home side kicked the game off as the bottom team in the Premier League and had claimed just four points from their previous eight top-flight games. It seemed this was an ideal opportunity for the Villans to end that losing streak.

Unfortunately for Villa, QPR followed-up their decent performance against Liverpool with a good display against them and the side from the Midlands are now 15^th place in the Premier League table.

Criticised

Paul Lambert was handed a contract extension when Villa were flourishing in the early weeks of the season. However, the Scot is now coming in for heavy criticism from his own fans for the team’s recent displays.

It is understandable considering that the team have been on such a terrible run of form and have not exactly been scintillating to watch going forward this season. The former-Norwich boss was not backed heavily in the transfer market in the summer and it did not seem to matter in the first four games.

However, since the losing streak and a string of injuries to key players the lack of squad investment seems to have become a bigger issue. The players that arrived were never going to set the place alight, but they were solid players.

Survival

If Villa’s poor form continues for much longer then the side from the Midlands will find themselves in another relegation fight. The Villans are currently odds of 7/2 to be relegated from the Premier League this season.

I do not think that Villa will be relegated, as they should pick-up form sooner or later, but if they do not then they could be one of the teams struggling to keep their head above water this season.

Will Aston Villa turn their season around in the near future?