August Preview: Premier League football is finally here!

After Aston Villa’s play-off final victory against Derby in May, it is basically a second Christmas in August as the claret and blue are merely just hours away from playing Premier League football.

There has been so much excitement and positivity at Villa Park for the past six months. Hopefully Dean Smith’s side – with a mixture of familiar faces as well as plenty of new ones – can translate that energy into early results in the league where Villa belong.

With that said, here is a brief look at Aston Villa’s fixtures for the opening month of their return to the Premier League.

(A) Tottenham Hotspur - Saturday 10^th of August

• 17:30 UK, 12:30 EST & 09:30 PDT
• Record vs Spurs in Premier League: 14W-15D-20L

This will be Spurs’ first ever season opener at their £850 million stadium. There is no doubt that Dean Smith and his men would love nothing more than to make the hosts opening day record at their new ground 0W-0D-1L

It might be a bit of an ask for Villa to start their campaign with an away win over the Champions League runners-up, but the home side will be a bit weakened without starters Dele Alli and Son Heung-min.

Tottenham have dominated the head-to-head for the last decade as the claret and blue have managed just one win in seventeen in all competitions. Aston Villa will be looking to buck that trend and repeat their last victory at Spurs - under Tim Sherwood in April of 2015.

If Saturday’s contest goes anything like the last time Villa opened a Premier League season on the road in North London, Villans will be elated:

(H) Bournemouth - Saturday 17^th of August

• 15:00 UK, 10:00 EST & 7:00 PDT
• Record vs Bournemouth in Premier League: 1W-1D-0L

The lone top flight win against the Cherries came on matchday one of the 2015-2016 Premier League season – a year to forget.

There will surely be some atmosphere for this one. Eddie Howe has established Bournemouth as Premier League club and his side are tipped by many for a mid-table finish. With the expectation that Villa Park will be packed to the gills for every EPL match, a win in the home opener would be massive for forward momentum.

(H) Everton - Friday 23^rd of August

• 20:00 UK, 15:00 EST & 12:00 PDT
• Record vs Everton in Premier League: 18W-17D-13L

Aston Villa’s promotion ensured that this remains the most played fixture in English football league history for at least one more year. This will mark 203^rd meeting between the two clubs.

Some of our staff picked Marco Silva and Everton to be this season’s surprise package. Whilst their summer spending perhaps left them a little light at the back, their first two matches – (A) Crystal Palace and (H) Watford – are very winnable for the Toffees.

Villa very well could be facing a team near the top of the table in this one. A win over a side like Everton early in the season would be a good one.

(A) Crystal Palace - Saturday 31^st of August

• 15:00 UK, 10:00 EST & 7:00 PDT
• Record vs Crystal Palace in Premier League: 4W-5D-4L

The first month back in the Premier League closes with a trip to Selhurst Park before the international break.

Palace look to be a bit wobbly headed into the campaign as they only spent £6 million in the window and have a disgruntled star in Wilfried Zaha. In addition to Everton, they also face Manchester United at Old Trafford as well as Sheffield United at Bramall Lane prior to this one.

It is a tough start for the South London outfit and Villans – at least as of now – will believe this is an away fixture where three points will be there for the taking.

There will be more added to our monthly previews as the season progresses. For now, yours truly thinks that 6 to 7 points for Villa in August would be a solid start.

Feel free to let us know how you see this month’s fixtures playing out. UTV!