Premier League 26/27 – Aston Villa « Vital Football
The 2026/27 Premier League campaign is right around the corner. Arsenal are aiming to defend their title, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea all trying to take it.
For AFC Bournemouth, it’s a season like no other. Andoni Iraola has left the Cherries and taken over at Liverpool, whilst Marco Rose is entering his first season in English management, bringing his experience of European football to the south coast.
For the first time in 127 years of football, the Cherries will enjoy a European campaign, entering the UEFA Europa League. That draw will take place in August, so first up, plan your calendars around the domestic campaign.
When do AFC Bournemouth meet Aston Villa?
AFC Bournemouth v Aston Villa- Saturday 2nd January 2027*
Aston Villa v AFC Bournemouth – Wednesday 10th February 2027*
How far do the Dean Court faithful have to travel?
Distance from Dean Court to the 43,205-capacity Villa Park? 167 miles via M40 and M42.
Villa Park will see some major redevelopment work over the coming season; the north stand (behind one of the goals) will be closed for the entirety of the upcoming season, which will bring the capacity down to around 37,000.
What happened last time out?
Aston Villa and AFC Bournemouth’s paths hadn’t crossed many times during the Cherries’ first 115 years of existence. The first meeting didn’t come until 1971 and the two sides only met a further four times over the next 44 years.
But following the Cherries promotion to the Premier League, the clubs have now met 12 times and the head-to-head record is a strange one.
Former AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, excluding the first meeting, which was AFC Bournemouth’s first top-flight match in the clubs history, had a good record against Aston Villa with 3 consecutive victories. Scott Parker also beat Aston Villa during his brief tenure as Cherries manager in the Premier League.
But Gary O’Neil and subsequently Andoni Iraola struggled, with no wins in seven attempts.
Last season saw a 4-0 defeat at Villa Park and a 1-1 draw at Dean Court.
Head-to-Head Record
| Games won: | 5 |
| Games drawn: | 4 |
| Games lost: | 8 |
Has anything changed at Aston Villa?
Youri Tielemans had his transfer release clause triggered by Manchester United and left the club a couple of weeks ago.
Former AFC Bournemouth loanee Morgan Rogers is also the subject of a potential transfer move; both Arsenal and Chelsea have shown an interest this summer, and he could leave for in excess of £100 million.
To-date they have signed Modou Keba Cisse from LASK and Johan Manzambi from Freiburg.
Transfermarkt value comparison (as of 20th July 2026)
AFC Bournemouth – €537.88m
Aston Villa – €527.20m
Prediction for Aston Villa this season?
Aston Villa finished last seasons Premier League campaign in fourth place, ahead of previous champions Liverpool in fifth. This result saw the club qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season which will be a huge distraction for the club.
The potential loss of Morgan Rogers and the already confirmed departure of Youri Tielemans are big blows for Aston Villa. But they are likely to be able to spend big when looking for replacements and will be looking for qualification to one of UEFA’s European competitions again next season.
* Fixtures are subject to change due to broadcast selection from Sky Sports and TNT Sport.
European fixtures in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League can also see many games moved to the Sunday 2pm slot.
DJ
