Gary Neville has now been on Jamie Carragher’s case regarding a quite negative prediction he made about Aston Villa in the summer.
The duo were speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast and Neville recalled Carragher’s dismissal of Villa before the season.
Gary Neville was confident that Unai Emery’s side could achieve a very high finish this campaign, something that was rebuffed.
Neville said: “You said at the start of the season you don’t get Villa, Carra! I said fifth and you said no chance.”
In fairness to Carragher, very few thought Aston Villa would be pushing for a Champions League spot so admirably this season.
However, smart recruitment in the summer has now propelled Emery’s side up the table despite some unfortunate injuries.
Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby have proved superb acquisitions, two players now heavily relied upon.
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And when Villa travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, they’ll have an excellent chance to prove their staying-power even further.
Villa head into the game just one point behind Ange Postecoglou’s side, who are now depleted ahead of the tie.
Gary Neville laments Jamie Carragher for dismissing Aston Villa this season
England striker Ollie Watkins is bound to play a big role in the fixture.
And he’ll certainly be hoping for a much more productive away trip than he enjoyed in Skopje with Gareth Southgate’s side.
It would be harsh to criticise the performance in difficult circumstances, but the striker would have certainly hoped for more.
Either way, Dion Dublin was confident that there is still so much more to come from Watkins.
And the whole of Aston Villa’s front line will surely be targeting a weakened Tottenham centre-back partnership on Sunday.
Although Jamie Carragher wasn’t expecting Villa to be so strong this season, Gary Neville will point out that all of the signs were there.
Unai Emery has been an excellent manager throughout his career, and he now has the squad to match his European ambitions.