With Paul Lambert still in post after a terrible first season that delivered Villa's worst ever defeat and saw them avoid relegation only on the strength of Christian Benteke's goals, they open the campaign with a shock win in an atypical but highly welcome Lambert performance with echoes of their victory at Anfield in December 2012, with Christian Benteke once again the architect. 

Christian Benteke opens the season as he finished the last as he scores his 25th goal and contributes his 33rd goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 40th appearance (38 Starts) to make it W15 D9 L16, 25 Goals, 8 Assists, 9 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Left back Antonio Luna, 22, makes a goalscoring Villa debut after signing from Sevilla FC for £1,800,000 in July 2013 to become the 857th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Midfielder Leandro Bacuna, 21, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after signing from FC Groningen for £1,260,000 in July 2013 to become the 857th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football to become the 856th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Fabian Delph secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 67th appearance (51 Starts) to make it W25 D18 L24, 2 Goals and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose a feisty affair as Paul Lambert's side can't repeat their capital trick of the opening day of the season.

Centre back Jores Okore. 23. makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from FC Nordsjaelland for a fee of £4,230,000 in July 2013 to become the 858th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Winger Aleksandar Tonev, 21, makes his debut in a Villa shirt following his move from Lech Poznan for £2,880,000 in July 2013 to become the 859th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Christian Benteke collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 41st appearance (39 Starts) to make it W15 D9 L17, 26 Goals, 8 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 69th appearance (67 Starts) to make it W27 D15 L27, 103 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.67 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Karim El Ahmadi makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (17 Starts) to make it W6 D6 L13, 1 Goal and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Paul Lambert’s Villa lose a second successive game but given the relative strength of their first three opponents - each of whom were expected to be challenging for the top 4 - there were signs for optimism in stark contrast to the previous campaign.

Nicklas Helenius makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Aalborg for £1,350,000 in July 2013 to become the 860th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa lose for the third consecutive Premier League game under Paul Lambert and for the first time this season deliver a beaten performance.

Centre forward Libor Kozák makes his debut in a Villa shirt from the subs bench to become the 862nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa record their first Premier League win since the opening day of the season after three consecutive losses under Paul Lambert.

Villa keep their first clean sheet in 26 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert.

Libor Kozák scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance (0 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L1 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Ciaran Clark makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt on his 84th appearance to make it W28 D21 L35, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 20 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 4.20 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan keeps his first clean sheet in a Villa shirt since December 2012 - 27 appearances previously - to make it W28 D15 L29, 106 Goals Conceded, 15 Clean Sheets, 1.63 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa bounce back from their Tottenham hammering to secure a win as thrilling as it was unexpected to give rise to an iconic image of celebrating in front of the Holte.

Paul Lambert’s Villa arguably deliver their third great result in 54 games under his stewardship with this backs to the wall victory against an expensively assembled outfit. 

The win showed a hitherto absent steel in Lambert's side, doubly so given the team was troubled with injuries to key players. 

As a result the game proved a source of hope that it could kickstart form for Villa in a way their previous victories (over Liverpool in December 2012 and Arsenal on the opening day of this season) had not. 

Villa climb to 9th in the Premier League table after six games as they had now won three and lost three of their opening matches.

Leandro Bacuna scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W4 D0 L2 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 73rd appearance (71 Starts) to make it W29 D15 L29, 1 Assist, 108 Goals Conceded, 15 Clean Sheets, 1.64 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar secures his 15th win in a Villa shirt on his 39th appearance to make it W15 D8 L16, 2 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Andreas Weimann secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 62nd appearance (43 Starts) to make it W25 D16 L21, 16 Goals, 3 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it three Premier League games unbeaten but are held to a goalless draw at Hull as Paul Lambert slowly build momentum after a difficult start to the campaign.

Ashley Westwood collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance (35 Starts) to make it W12 D9 L16, 7 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose at home to Tottenham for the second time in four games as they are beaten for the first time in four to leave them with three wins in eight under Paul Lambert.

Fabian Delph makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (59 Starts) to make it W28 D19 L28, 3 Goals and 24 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 110th goal in a Villa shirt on his 75th appearance (73 Starts) to make it W29 D16 L30, 1 Assist, 110 Goals Conceded, 16 Clean Sheets, 1.62 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose their 5th Premier League game in 9 under Paul Lambert.

Villa lose at home for the fourth time in five Premier League games under Paul Lambert as their season once again unravels under the uncommunicative Villa boss.

Villa fail to score for a third consecutive game under Paul Lambert. 

Villa have failed to score in 6 of their 11 fixtures this season under Paul Lambert. 

Villa extend their unbeaten run to four but draw for the third time as they fail to score for the seventh time in fifteen games under Paul Lambert to leave them with just four wins in thirteen Premier League matches.

Villa have now won just twice at home in 8 matches, losing 4, under Paul Lambert.

Libor Kozák makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (6 Starts) to make it W3 D4 L3 and 2 Goals so far in his Villa career.

Antonio Luna makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W3 D2 L5, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the fourth time in fourteen Premier League games as they come out on top in a thriller at St Mary's hitting three goals for the first time since September after having failed to score in five of their previous seven games under Paul Lambert.

Villa record their 5th win in 14 Premier League games under Paul Lambert. 

Villa extend their unbeaten run to 5 games under Paul Lambert. 

Gabriel Agbonlahor scores his 75th goal in a Villa shirt on his 298th appearance (268 Starts) to make it W111 D90 L97, 75 Goals, 39 Assists and 34 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Fabian Delph contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 79th appearance (62 Starts) to make it W29 D21 L29, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 24 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Karim El Ahmadi contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 38th appearance (29 Starts) to make it W11 D10 L17, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa's troubles continue to mount and it's deja vu under Paul Lambert as they fall to a second consecutive defeat, fail to score for the ninth time in eighteen games and have just five wins in sixteen Premier League games with five defeats in eight at home.

Villa lose for the second game in succession and the 7th time in 16 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa have now lost 5 of 8 home games this season under Paul Lambert.

Villa fail to score for the 8th time in the last 16 matches under Paul Lambert.

Gabriel Agbonlahor makes his 300th appearance in a Villa shirt (270 Starts) to make it W111 D90 L99, 75 Goals, 39 Assists and 35 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Nathan Baker suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 54th Appearance (51 Starts) to make it W18 D11 L25, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Westwood loses for the 20th time in a Villa shirt on his 46th appearance (44 Starts) to make it W14 D12 L20, 1 Goal, 7 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Andreas Weimann suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 71st appearance (49 Starts) to make it W26 D20 L25, 16 Goals, 4 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Marc Albrighton makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (85 Appearances) to make it W25 D26 L34, 9 Goals, 11 Assists, 9 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Paul Lambert’s Villa lose for the fourth game in succession and the ninth time in eighteen Premier League games but remain 13th in the table. 

Lambert had now lost six of his nine home League games this season and failed to score in nine of their eighteen matches. 

Lambert and Villa, unsurprisingly, were the subject of derision at full time as a manager who had mystifyingly retained support after one of the worst seasons in living memory finally began to feel the wrath of a judgemental Villa Park.

Gabriel Agbonlahor suffers his 100th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 301st appearance (271 Starts) to make it W111 D90 L100, 75 Goals, 39 Assists and 35 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ciaran Clark suffers his 40th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 96th appearance (86 Starts) to make it W31 D25 L40, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 24 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 4 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa end a run of four defeats to draw with Swansea but had now won just twice in 10 home League matches under Paul Lambert as the ire from the terraces grew. 

Ciaran Clark collects his 25th booking in a Villa shirt on his 97th appearance (87 Starts) to make it W31 D26 L40, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 25 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.88 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 125th goal in a Villa shirt on his 86th appearance (84 Starts) to make it W31 D20 L35, 1 Assist, 125 Goals Conceded, 19 Clean Sheets, 1.57 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the 1st time in 6 and 6th time in 20 Premier League games under Paul Lambert in 2013-14.

Brad Guzan keeps his 20th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 87th appearance (86 Starts) to make it W32 D20 L35, 1 Assist, 125 Goals Conceded, 20 Clean Sheets, 1.55 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Andreas Weimann makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (53 Starts) to make it W27 D21 L27, 16 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Marc Albrighton secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 89th appearance (52 Starts) to make it W26 D27 L36, 9 Goals, 11 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Paul Lambert's New Years' Resolution to make himself even more unpopular gets off to a great start as he throws away a Cup run to leave Villa with eleven defeats in twenty three games including losses to two League One sides including one only just promoted from the fourth tier of English football.

Paul Lambert’s Villa lose for the seventh time in ten home games to crash out of the FA Cup to League One Sheffield United. 

Hardly helping Lambert’s cause was his Houllier-esque idiotic comments about the value of the FA Cup that he had to speedily backtrack.

Nicklas Helenius scores his first goal on his 6th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (0 Starts). Having only joined in July 2013 for £1,350,000 from Aalborg, like so many of Paul Lambert's signings, Helenius was completely out of this depth in the Premier League and would be released on a free to Aalborg in July 2015 with a record of W2 D0 L4, 0 Goals, 0 Assists

Ashley Westwood makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (48 Starts) to make it W15 D13 L22, 1 Goal, 7 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 10th time in 21 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa have now lost 7 of their 11 home League games this season under Paul Lambert.

Paul Lambert has now set a club record of home defeats for a top-flight season. Lambert has now broken yet another unwanted record just 12 months after presiding over the biggest defeat in Villa’s history.

Christian Benteke scores his first goal in 13 games to break his longest goalless streak in a Villa shirt on his 57th appearance (53 Starts) to make it W20 D12 L25, 29 Goals, 9 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa earn a creditable draw at Anfield but now have just a single win in eight Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa now have 6 wins in 22 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert this season.

Left back Ryan Bertrand, 24, makes his Villa debut after joining on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season to become the 864th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Centre forward Grant Holt, 32, makes his Villa debut from the subs bench having joined on loan from Wigan Athletic unfit and overweight earlier this month to become the 865th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Pretty much to a man, Lambert's signings were odd, this one though was nonsensical as a player unable to get a squad place at Wigan was brought in and played ahead of far more qualified squad members under Lambert.

Left back Antonio Luna makes his 18th and final appearance for Villa aged 22 just 5 months after his debut. Luna had been a first team regular during his first months with the club before appearing to disappear from first team consideration - just another sign of the madness that had infected the club under Paul Lambert. Luna moved on to SD Eibar on a free transfer in July 2015 having left a record of W5 D4 L9, 1 Goal and 3 Bookings.

Ciaran Clark makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (90 Starts) to make it W31 D27 L42, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 27 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.70 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W18 D13 L19, 2 Goals and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Westwood makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (52 Appearances) to make it W15 D14 L23, 1 Goal, 7 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Christian Benteke scores in consecutive games having broken his longest goalless streak in a Villa shirt (13 Games) last time out. Benteke now has 58 Appearances (54 Starts) with a record of W20 D13 L25, 30 Goals, 9 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Karim El Ahmadi collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 44th appearance (34 Starts) to make it W11 D12 L21, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.