Villa fail to take advantage of 10-man Leeds as a costly two points are thrown away for the desperate relegation battle to come.

Ludwig Augustinsson makes a debut for the ages. Not quite Danny Drinkwater but a 6’ booking, a performance of trepidation and injury all before half time really sums up Gerrard’s management of Villa. Against all the odds Augustinsson becomes the 983rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Another surprising addition to the squad, Jan Bednarek, makes his Villa debut after joining on loan from Southampton to become the 984th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ashley Young makes his 200th start for Villa on his 220th appearance since first joining the club in 2007 to make it W95 D63 L62, 38 Goals, 64 Assists, 40 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa's annual Cup defeat to Manchester United comes early this year as the second strung Unai Emery has inherited underlines the need for a major squad overhaul.

Robin Olsen concedes his 8th, 9th 10th and 11th goal in three appearances in a Villa shirt to make it W0 D0 L3, 11 Goals Conceded at a rate of 3.67 goals per game so far in his Villa career.

Boubacar Kamara makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W4 D1 L5 so far in his Villa career.

Ollie Watkins scores his 30th goal in a Villa shirt on his 92nd appearance (87 Starts) to make it W35 D15 L42, 30 Goals, 9 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz collects his 30th booking on his 126th appearance for the club (109th Start) to make it W43 D23 L60, 7 Goals, 9 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Clear organisation. Focus. Commitment. Passion. Football. Another 3 points. 

Villa survive a dreadful refereeing performance from the first seconds onwards, totally losing control of a game that didn’t change in its format from kick off - Brighton foul, often cynically and often collectively with barely any focus on cohesive football. Quite why then his eight card flurry after 75’ happened is a mystery.

Ezri Konsa makes his 115th appearance and 110th start for Villa to make it W42 D22 L51, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 16 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz contributes his 10th assist for Villa on his 127th appearance (110 Starts) to make it W44 D23 L60, 7 Goals, 10 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa are held at home by lowly Wolves as Unai Emery draws for the first time as Villa boss, despite the setback Villa are unbeaten in four of six outings under Emery and climb to 11th in the table.

Douglas Luiz makes his 130th appearance in a Villa shirt (113 Starts) since joining aged 21 in 2019 to make it W45 D24 L61, 8 Goals, 11 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa fail to attract a 40,000+ crowd to Villa Park for the first time since beating Millwall in the Championship in April 2019. The 39,978 crowd, around 1,500 less than a typical VP attendance had to deal with ongoing train strikes for a late, midweek match in the first week after Christmas amidst a cost of living crisis. That Villa chose to charge £59 on the gate hardly helped. 

With League Two Stevenage in the FA Cup next, a televised match, Villa could record consecutive sub 40,000 crowds for the first time in five seasons.

Villa’s second string fail miserably and underline the desperate need for major investment and turnover in personnel outside Emery’s first XI.

Villa face Stevenage for the first time in competitive football, Stevenage become the 163rd team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football.

Matty Cash makes his 85th appearance for Villa since signing from Forest in September 2020 and now has a record of W31 D13 L41, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 19 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leander Dendoncker receives his first card of any colour on his 11th appearance for Villa and it's a red. Dendoncker's Villa career now reads W4 D2 L5, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 1 Red Card.

Morgan Sanson scores his sole goal for the club on his 22nd Appearance (8 Starts) to make it W7 D5 L10, 1 Goal, 0 Assists and 3 Bookings.

Robin Olsen concedes his 16th goal in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L5, 16 Goals Conceded at a rate of 2.67 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet (17%) so far in his Villa career.

Ludwig Augustinsson makes his 4th and final appearance for Villa (3 Starts) before having his loan terminated early by Unai Emery and leaving with a record of W1 D2 L2, 1 Booking.

Fellow surprise signing Jan Bednarek also suffers an early termination and leaves with a record of W1 D1 L2.

Villa record consecutive sub 40,000 crowds for the first time in five seasons with an attendance of 32,343 following a 39,978 gate in the previous fixture.