How has the first three months of Steven Gerrard’s era gone at Aston Villa?

Having been appointed as Dean Smith’s replacement three months ago tomorrow, Steven Gerrard has certainly made an impact at Villa Park.

The 41-year-old swapped Rangers for Aston Villa after leading the Scottish Premiership side to their first top-flight league title in 10 years. Ironically, after a stellar playing career for Liverpool, it was the Englishman’s first-ever league success.

Gerrard is undoubtedly a Premier League cult hero for his time at the Reds as a player, which meant whenever he inevitably made the dive into management in the English top-flight, there was always going to be millions of beady eyes eager to see how he fared.

Three months into his first Premier League job, he is doing pretty well.

In 10 league games played, Villa have won five, drawn one and lost three as well as a cruel FA Cup exit at Manchester United.

It has certainly been an improvement from the final few games of Dean Smith’s tenure as Villa lost five league games in a row and the now Norwich City manager was sacked.

Sat in 11th place going into their league meeting with Leeds United, Villa are now in a bit of a limbo. The top-half is a whisker away with 10th-placed Leicester City ahead only on goal difference, albeit the Foxes do have a game in hand, whilst any relegation worries from the start of the season are long gone with Gerrard’s side 11 points clear.

Moreover, it can be argued the loan signing of Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, whom the Villa boss was teammates with at Liverpool, was only possible because of the ‘Gerrard pull.’

However, qualifying for Europe seems just too tall a task despite the turnaround in fortunes under the new Villa boss.

With seventh place likely to be enough for a Europa Conference League spot, Aston Villa would have to overcome Tottenham’s 10-point advantage with the Lilywhites also having a game in hand.

It is not impossible, but it would be a major scalp if achieved.

Realistically, the rest of the season for the West Midlands outfit should be about laying down a foundation to build upon next season.

As for their opponent Leeds United, it certainly has not been the second season they would have wanted after a stellar return to the top-flight last campaign.

Hopes of knocking on the door of continental football for next season have been replaced with continuous awkward glances over their shoulder, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side still very much in the conversation of the relegation dogfight.

The Whites have got breathing space with a seven-point advantage over 18th placed Watford whilst also having games in hand on the likes of Brentford and Norwich.

Like Villa, Leeds are also in a sort of limbo. A few positive results and they will put themselves clear of danger, however, Bielsa’s side are only a couple of defeats away from being dragged into serious danger.

With two sides who like to play on the front-foot going head-to-head on Wednesday night, it is sure to be a fascinating spectacle, with one side still clinging onto the outside chance of a European push whilst the other will be looking to ensure they pull themselves away from any immediate danger at the foot of the table.

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