The true scale of Aston Villa's imminent fixture pile up

Now the final international break of the year is over, Aston Villa are about to attack the busiest and most demanding period of the campaign.

The festive fixtures loom, but not before Villa play two more Champions League matches and look to get back into form in the league. After being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace last month, Villa's next domestic cup match will be played in January in the FA Cup.

Before then, Unai Emery's side will play a total of 11 matches, seven of which are at home. Apart from travelling to Germany to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League, their longest journey comes on Boxing Day when they head to Newcastle United.

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Five days prior, Villa host Manchester City on Saturday, December 21, a week after facing Nottingham Forest away from home. The only other away league match Villa play until mid-January comes against Chelsea next weekend, after Villa host Crystal Palace on Saturday and take on Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Two winnable home matches against Brentford and Southampton follow Villa's trip to Chelsea, before Emery's side head to Germany for their sixth Champions League clash against Leipzig. Villa's next match at the City Ground against Forest will bring to an end a period of seven games in three weeks.

They'll rest for a week before facing City, have five days between the next match at Newcastle, but then only three to prepare for the home match against Brighton at Villa Park on Monday, December 30. Finally, a home match with Leicester City rounds off the busiest period of the season on Saturday, January 4.

Villa's next 11 fixtures in all competitions...

Crystal Palace (H) - Saturday, November 23 (3pm)

Juventus (H) - Wednesday, November 27 (8pm)

Chelsea (A) - Sunday, December 1 (1:30pm)

Brentford (H) - Wednesday, December 4 (8:15pm)

Southampton (H) - Saturday, December 7 (3pm)

RB Leipzig (A) - Tuesday, December 10 (8pm)

Nottingham Forest (A) - Saturday, December 14 (5:30pm)

Manchester City (H) - Saturday, December 21 (12:30pm)

Newcastle United (A) - Thursday, December 26 (3pm)

Brighton (H) - Monday, December 30 (7:45pm)

Leicester City (H) - Saturday, January 4 (3pm)