Aston Villa second in Premier League table since they won the January transfer window

Only Liverpool have more Premier League points than Aston Villa since the January transfer window closed.

Aston Villa still have two routes into next season’s Champions League after beating high-flying Nottingham Forest for a seventh straight win in all competitions.

It’s a win that sets Villa up perfectly for a huge Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday, as well as lifting them to sixth in the Premier League table and level on points with Manchester City who currently occupy the (almost certain) final Champions League qualification position in fifth.

But Villa’s recent form paints an even rosier picture than that.

Villa also have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to and have been in rare form since making a big splash in the January transfer window. Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio were huge loan signings, while Axel Disasi, Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia have all bolstered a squad that had struggled in the first half of the season with the novel demands of juggling Premier League and Champions League commitments.

While Rashford and Asensio have taken most of the headlines, it was Malen who made his mark against Forest, scoring a quickfire second goal from close range after Morgan Rogers had given Villa an early lead. It was his second Premier League goal for Villa following a late cherry-on-top effort against Brighton in midweek.

This one proved of far greater significance, with Villa forced to hold out desperately for a vital win against a much-improved Nottingham Forest performance after the break.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s disastrous experiment with a back five was abandoned, and Forest pulled a goal back through Diogo Jota. With some more clinical finishing Forets could have emerged with a point at least, with Elliot Anderson particularly guilty of failing to test Emi Martinez with a string of presentable chances in a feisty second half.

While Forest still hold a strong position in third, it’s clear that Villa are now reaping considerable benefits of that stellar work in the January window. The January window closed, slightly confusingly on February 3 this year, and since that date only Liverpool have amassed more than Villa’s 14 Premier League points from seven league games. They’ve won four and drawn two, with a thumping defeat at Crystal Palace their only loss across three competitions since completing their winter window business.

Unai Emery will be hoping Villa can keep this form rolling on for another couple of months yet, and the good news for those painfully aware of the team’s struggles the weekend after Champions League games this season is that the PSG games sandwich a trip to Southampton. So that should be fine.

Newcastle after the second leg against the French champions might be a different matter, but let’s not worry about that just yet.

Villa aren’t the only team to impress in a Premier League table from February 4 onwards, with other eye-catchers including Crystal Palace in third and the fine run of form that has lifted Wolves clear of any relegation bother.

Meanwhile it’s been a spell every bit as grim as their overall league seasons thus far for Man United and Tottenham, who sit 14th and 16th respectively in this particular table.

Here is the full Premier League table since February 4 2025:

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