Exciting Villa Park repeat, Birmingham's £15m transfer benchmark and former striker finds feet in Italy

Premier League football returns this weekend as Aston Villa host Crystal Palace on Saturday hoping to end their recent winless run.

Villa's last win in the league came a month ago against Fulham at Craven Cottage, before they then made it three wins from three in the Champions League against Bologna. But after conceding a late equaliser to Bournemouth last month, Unai Emery's side then lost four in a row against Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Club Brugge and Liverpool.

While only half of those defeats came in the Premier League, Villa remain in a strong position, just one point off third place heading into their match with Palace. The league table is as tight as it has ever been after 11 matches while 15th-placed Manchester United are only four points off third themselves.

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1897 GROUP PREPARE FOR BRENTFORD

It's crucial that Villa make the most of their home matches in the coming weeks with the likes of Palace, Brentford and Southampton to come in their next three at Villa Park in the league.

After winning 16 league matches in a row under Emery earlier in his tenure, he knows that the role of the supporters will be key to collecting the points required to achieve the goal of retaining their top four position this term.

The 1897 Group have been given 100 tickets in the P9 block of the Doug Ellis Stand after successfully breaking ground on their exciting plans to enhance the atmosphere at Villa Park with a trial display against Bournemouth last season. Fans who would like to get involved and take part in the P9 block will need to contact the ticket office.

Their long-term goal is to be visible inside and outside of Villa Park and they have taken inspiration from fan groups at other clubs, such as Wor Flags, Holmesdale Fanatics and Ashburton Army of Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Arsenal respectively. The 1897 Group has many members, all from different backgrounds, who are committed to making a difference.

They group have two primary goals - to improve the atmosphere for fans and players through displays, mosaics and banners, as well as providing support in local communities.

BARRY NEEDS CHAMPIONSHIP TEST

He can't stop scoring! It's now 12 goals in 17 appearances for Louie Barry at Stockport this season after he scored the winner against Wrexham on Saturday afternoon.

The 21-year-old has struck 20 times in 36 league matches since the start of last season under Dave Challinor and is lighting up the third-tier. Barry settled at Stockport last season after a few difficult loan spells elsewhere as a teenager looking to find his way in senior football.

Villa will be monitoring his progress closely as he continues to fire Stockport into a position where they can challenge for promotion to the Championship this season. Villa's local rivals Birmingham City are also gunning for promotion this term after spending record amounts in the summer window for a League One club.

Their biggest outlay was to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham, who joined Blues for a fee between £10m-£15m. Stansfield is of similar profile to Barry, but the Villa youngster will have to prove himself in the Championship before his price tag rockets.

Stansfield has struck five times in eight matches this term after bagging 12 times in the Championship last term. Villa will be keen to give Barry exposure to the second-tier of English football to allow his value to grow.

In the world of PSR, academy players present 'pure profit' and Villa will have a decision to make on Barry's future this summer if he continues to impress because there will be no shortage of suitors for the former Barcelona youngster.

CLARET & BLUE CATCH-UP

DAVIS FINDS HIS FEET IN ITALY

Another academy graduate, Keinan Davis, was sold to Udinese last year and initially struggled to find form in the Serie A due to injury. His only goal of the season came on the final day against Frosinone, which helped the Italian club remain in the top-flight and avoid relegation.

This season, Davis has managed to stay fit and has featured in all 14 of the club's matches in all competitions. The striker spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport last month about the season he has had so far, while also revealing he still speak is still speaks with some of his ex-Villa teammates.

He said: “I arrived late, a great club, I will always thank them. I had my first contract with them, I made my debut in the Premier League, I played 10 minutes with Bournemouth. I am in contact with Konsa, Ramsey, Hause. But I support Arsenal, I watch them on TV”.

Davis added: “At first I was afraid to leave England. But maybe it’s the same for you if you have to leave Italy. The Premier League is a very competitive league, maybe the best in the world for the level of players. But I don’t miss it that much, I haven’t played there much. Serie A is an exceptional league and I’ve adapted to it.”