Curtis Woodhouse delivers verdict on whether Aston Villa will survive relegation

Curtis Woodhouse reckons Aston Villa are “doomed” in their battle against relegation after watching Dean Smith’s side suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat to Leicester City on Monday night, leaving Villa in 19th place in the Premier League.

Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy both scored a brace as the Premier League’s leakiest defence conceded another four goals to Brendan Rodgers’ side. Tyrone Mings, Bjorn Engels and Pepe Reina could do nothing to help, as Villa capitulated.

The defeat sees Villa sit two points adrift of safety in 19th place. Although they have a game in hand and still 10 league games to play, they still have Chelsea, Wolves, Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal to face in that time.

Ex-Birmingham City midfielder Woodhouse, who currently manages Gainsborough Trinity, reacted on Twitter to Villa’s 4-0 defeat by claiming Smith’s side will be relegated come May – hammering the Villa defence for being too easy to score against.

Villa look doomed, they concede so many bad goals. You don’t have to work hard to score against Villa, knock on the door and they crumble or self implode, extremely frustrating for the manager I’m sure

— Curtis Woodhouse (@curtiswoodhous8) March 9, 2020

TBR’s view – Do Villa have a chance to save their season?

Of course they do. A game in hand over their relegation rivals and still 10 to play, only two points adrift, Villa can still save themselves. But with a tough fixture list and a completely confidence-bereft squad, it looks a tall order.

Smith will need to earn his pay cheque over the coming months if he is to save Villa. Something needs to change. The defence must tighten up, the attack must have their confidence re-installed, and a rare off-night for Jack Grealish cannot happen.

(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)