Aston Villa's bruising defeat to Newcastle United in their Premier League opener seems a distant memory now, having won eight league games from the 11 that have followed.
This fantastic start to the campaign has seen them pick up some massive scalps already this season, with a 1-0 win away to Chelsea and a complete demolition of high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion when the Seagulls made the visit to Villa Park in late September.
This strong start to the league campaign has seen them climb to fifth place, just one point behind former League leaders Tottenham Hotspur and two points behind Arsenal and Liverpool in third and fourth, respectively.
Their European campaign has also well and truly recovered from their early defeat away to Legia Warszawa, as they find themselves second in the group, level on points with the Polish side in first.
With that in mind, Football FanCast has previewed and predicted their next six fixtures as they travel down to Spurs on Sunday in their first league game back from the International break.
26th November
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur
A
30th November
Europa Conference League
Legia Warsaw
H
3rd December
Premier League
Bournemouth
A
6th December
Premier League
Manchester City
H
9th December
Premier League
Arsenal
H
14th December
Europa Conference League
HSK Zrinjski Mostar
A
Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa
26th November, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
The first game back from the international break for Aston Villa is a trip to north London to take on the high-flying Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have been one of the best teams in the league this season, although their bruising defeat to Chelsea and loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break has undoubtedly taken some of the shine off of their start to their league campaign.
Villa have proved that they're no pushovers under Emery this season, and while they certainly won't be favourites for the game, they also won't make it easy for the hosts.
After 12 Premier League games, the Claret and Blue are sitting pretty in fifth place with eight wins to their name and a goal difference of plus 12.
In fact, Villa's 29 goals scored this season is only bettered by Manchester City's 32, while Spurs have scored 24.
Another thing that the Lions have in their favour is history. In the last five meetings between these two sides, Villa have emerged with all three points three times, while Spurs have only done so twice.
However, with all that said, Tottenham are a different animal this season, and with home wins against Liverpool and Manchester United to their name this term, they are likely to be just one step beyond Villa as things stand – even with a few players missing through injury or suspension.
Therefore, we reckon the Lilywhites will just about clinch this one, although it won't be easy.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Aston Villa
Aston Villa v Legia Warsaw
30th November, Europa Conference League, Villa Park
The Villans return to European action in their final fixture of November.
Having conceded defeat to the Polish outfit in the reverse clash, Villa will be eager to put right the performance in Warsaw, which saw them ship three goals.
Legia are currently leading the way in Group E, having won three of their opening four games, including a 2-0 victory against Bosnian side HŠK Zrinjski Mostar last time out, so the hosts will be incentivised to overthrow the table-toppers. However, Villa are level on points with the Polish side, so there really is very little to separate the sides.
The Claret and Blue will therefore be the favourites heading into the encounter, and with their current skyrocketing trajectory, their opponents could be in for a thumping.
Keeping the Premier League's second-highest scorers at bay will be a colossal task for the visitors, who currently lie sixth in the Ekstraklasa standings.
Although, Emery's side will have to be wary of Legia's Tomás Pekhart, who has already amassed four goals in the competition so far, albeit all during the qualifying phases.
Prediction: Aston Villa 4-0 Legia Warsaw
Bournemouth vs Aston Villa
3rd December, Premier League, Vitality Stadium
Just three days after hosting Polish side Legia Warszawa in the Europa Conference League, Unai Emery's men will be on the road once more as they make the 123-mile trip down to the south coast to take on Andoni Iraola's struggling Bournemouth.
While the turnaround time is certainly less than ideal for the Claret and Blue, the team will still be going there full of confidence and rightly so, as they are the clear favourites for this encounter.
For all their investment over the summer, the Cherries are currently down in 16th place, just four points above Sheffield United in 18th place. In their 12 Premier League games so far, Bournemouth have picked up two wins, drawn three times, lost seven games and have a goal difference of -16.
In contrast, Villa are flying high in fifth place, having won a seriously impressive eight out of 12 games thus far, with a goal difference of plus 12.
That said, the Cherries do have one thing on their side this weekend: History. In their previous five meetings, Bournemouth have emerged with all three points four times to Villa's one.
However, the result won't be decided on history alone and with the way the sides are performing at the moment, we can't see anything other than a win for the visitors, and a comfortable one at that.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-3 Aston Villa
Aston Villa vs Manchester City
6th December, Premier League, Villa Park
Just three days after travelling down to the south coast for their game against Bournemouth, Unai Emery's Aston Villa will have to take on the Herculean task of playing this Manchester City side.
Villa have been undeniably impressive this season, and while they'll have the belief that they can beat anyone at Villa Park – as they should – City aren't just 'anyone'. Pep Guardiola's team are on the hunt for their fourth league title on the bounce, and from recent results, they look just as hungry as ever.
The treble winners currently sit atop the table – at the time of writing, at least – with 28 points and nine wins from 12 games. Whereas, Villa sit in fifth with eight wins, one draw and three losses from their 12 league games this season.
While the Villans will likely make this a challenging game for the visitors, we can't see anything other than a win for the men in sky blue, especially as they haven't lost to the Claret and Blue since 2013.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-3 Manchester City
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
9th December, Premier League, Villa Park
The games come thick and fast in December, and just a few days after hosting the Premier League champions, Aston Villa will have to host last year's runners-up, Arsenal.
Unai Emery will be taking on his former side in this Saturday evening kick-off, and while he'll be keen to get one over on the team that sacked him over three years ago, his side will certainly be the underdogs.
The Gunners haven't been at their free-flowing best so far this season, but while they have struggled to score as frequently as they once did, their defence has become increasingly solid. In fact, only Liverpool can match their ten goals conceded at the time of writing.
However, Villa are just two points behind Arteta's side in the table after 12 games, and with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz, they could spring a surprise on the men in red and white, especially with the vociferous support of Villa Park behind them.
That said, we still reckon Arsenal will have just enough to collect all three points from this one.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
HSK Zrinjski Mostar vs Aston Villa
14th December, Europa Conference League, Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom
Aston Villa are blessed with a few days off after their clash with Arsenal before they have to make the long trip to Bosnia for their final Europa Conference League game of the year against HSK Zrinjski Mostar.
Unai Emery's men are undoubtedly the favourites going into this one, although when they met one another on October 5th, it took a 94th-minute strike from John McGinn to seal the win for the Claret and Blue.
However, the scoreline doesn't really reflect the game, as Villa had 75% of the possession in that game, a passing accuracy of 88%, made 634 passes to Zrinjski's 223 and took 27 shots, nine of which were on target. So, it's a real mystery how that game only ended 1-0.
The Premier League side will be away from home for this one, which could make life harder, especially as Zrinjski currently sit in third place in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That said, there is more than enough quality in this Villa side to get the job done, and with Emery at the helm, there will be very few teams that can get the best of the Claret and Blue in Europe this season.
Ultimately, we reckon this will be a relatively straightforward win for Villa, and while they may not have quite as many shots away from home, we wouldn't be surprised if they do end up with more goals this time.
Prediction: HSK Zrinjski Mostar 1-3 Aston Villa