Villa open the Covid affected season late and in curious circumstances as they face and beat League one Burton in the EFL Cup.

Centre forward Ollie Watkins makes a goalscoring Villa debut aged 25 after joining from Brentford for a club record fee of £27,720,000 to become the 946th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Neil Taylor makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (92 Starts) to make it W48 D21 L31, 4 Assists, 14 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ørjan Nyland makes his 36th and final appearance for Villa (34 Starts) to make it W12 D12 L12, 54 Goals Conceded and 8 Clean Sheets.

Keinan Davis scores his 5th goal for the club on his 68th appearance (25 Starts) to make it W29 D16 L23, 5 Goals, 4 Assists and 2 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Marvelous Nakamba secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 35th appearance (25 Starts) to make it W10 D7 L18, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Midfielder Jacob Ramsey, 19, makes his first start for Villa after three previous appearances as substitute.

Villa miss a late penalty and are knocked out of the EFL Cup by League one Burton.

Albert Adomah makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (90 Appearances) to make it W42 D22 L26, 18 Goals, 17 Assists, and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Goalkeeper André Moreira makes his second and final appearance for Villa before ending his loan spell in January 2019 and returning to Atlético Madrid. 

Right back Ritchie De Laet makes his 14th and final appearance for Villa (9 Starts) aged 29 before being released by the club in July 2019. De Laet left with a record of W6 D3 L5, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings in his three seasons with the club.

Axel Tuanzebe makes his 10th start for Villa (11 Appearances) to make it W4 D5 L2 so far in his Villa career.

Villa record a sixth successive League victory for the first time since the title winning season of 1980-81 as Jack Grealish scores his first of the season.

Centre back Axel Tuanzebe makes his Villa debut aged 20 as a 67’ substitute after joining from Manchester United on loan to the end of the season. Tuanzebe becomes the 917th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Robert Snodgrass contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 25th appearance (24 Starts) to make it W15 D6 L4, 6 Goals, 9 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Scott Hogan scores his fifth goal in 5 games having scored just 4 in his previous 34 appearances to make it W17 D8 L14, 9 Goals, 4 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ahmed Elmohamady contributes his 5th assist on his 28th appearance for Villa (23 Starts) to make it W15 D8 L5, 5 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Birkir Bjarnason secures his 15th win in a Villa shirt on his 25th appearance (14 Starts) to make it W15 D2 L8, 2 Goals and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

A Robert Snodgrass inspired Villa make it three league wins in a row for Steve Bruce's side who are suddenly 8th in the table. 

The real catalyst however was Steve Bruce’s decision to name an unchanged line up for the first time this season. Bruce’s continual unenforced changes across the first twelve games of the season had contributed to Villa’s stuttering and sometimes painful start to the season. 

Despite a large squad and only one long term injury (Jack Grealish) Steve Bruce’s selection changes confused more than they contributed, the hope now was a more settled side could be created to help Villa consolidate a top 8 position.

Robert Snodgrass scores his first goal and contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 5th appearance (4 Starts) to make it W3 D2 L0, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

John Terry makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W4 D4 L2 so far in his Villa career.

Villa extend their unbeaten run to five but are held at Burton as their slight hopes of a late charge into the play off places are dashed.

Albert Adomah makes his 35th appearance in a Villa shirt (28 Starts) to make it W14 D9 L12, 3 Goals, 10 Assists and 1 Booking 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.