Can Aston Villa keep up a title challenge?
Might this season be Aston Villa's time?
A nine-match winning streak in all competitions - nearing the club record of 11 set in 1897 - have launched Unai Emery's side into title contention.
This impressive streak has come following Villa were unable to secure a victory in any of their first five Premier League matches and were the last team in the league to score.
They face at home Manchester United on Sunday before playing away at Chelsea and taking on leaders Arsenal to conclude 2026 - three games which could determine their role in the title race.
Villa have not lifted significant silverware since lifting the League Cup in 1996 but, currently placed third in both the Premier League and Europa League, their long wait could come to an end in remarkable fashion.
Villa maintain the pressure on the top two following a two goals from Rogers.
The Manager's Measured Stance
Unai Emery refuses to yield to any external demands to announce Villa are challenging for the title.
However, the statistics paint a clear picture, as their single top-flight defeat since August came against Liverpool in October, and since then Villa have won six straight top-flight games.
Last Sunday's 3-2 comeback win over West Ham exemplified the resilience of his side and the winning feeling they now carry.
"We are not feeling under pressure, we are feeling ambitious and we try to be competitive in Europe and in the Premier League," Emery said. "Enjoy each match, try to prepare then rest. The players must be at ease doing it."
Emery has been cautious to avoid putting any unnecessary focus on his Villa players. After all, they are garnering sufficient notice through their excellent results.
Transformation from Struggles to Success
That current form is in sharp opposition to a beginning of the campaign in which they were winless after their initial six fixtures, including a Carabao Cup loss to Brentford, and did not even score in the league until a 1-1 draw at Sunderland on 21 September.
The squad conducted a discussion to review their alarming start and plan how to return to form. There was a acknowledgement there had been a hangover from falling short of the Champions League.
Unai Emery has been the boss at Aston Villa since November 2022.
Villa finished sixth last season and were denied the top five on goal difference following a contentious loss by Manchester United on the final day.
After that stalemate at the Stadium of Light they have secured 15 victories in 17 matches, which includes beating Manchester City 1-0 and this month's thrilling 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
There has also been gradual change, not upheaval under Emery, as seven Villa players who played in the head coach's first match - a 3-1 victory against United in November 2022 - are still crucial now.
Learning from Past Campaigns
"The last year is an model and it's an experience for us. Sometimes we were performing well, we were achieving our objective, but maybe if we were aiming higher, maybe even we could achieve even greater things," Emery stated.
He added, "This is the third season I am here, I am really very motivated, but [also] more demanding than when I first came. My objective has a lot of things to work on."
Ending the Long Wait
The last time Villa lifted top-level silverware - beating Leeds 3-0 in the League Cup - feels like a bygone age.
It has been a protracted drought since, with Villa falling in two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals over the years.
Emery, a Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villarreal, declared on his appointment that the key aim was to secure silverware. Last season's FA Cup semi-final defeat is not forgotten.
A Europa Conference League semi-final defeat 18 months ago and a thrilling Champions League quarter-final exit last April demonstrate their progress.
"Every time we go into a major match now, we have that determination in the back of our heads to show this team we have built over the past five or six years is worth more than a quarter-final, worth more than a semi-final," captain John McGinn told reporters. "The determination, I can see it this year."
The critical period begins now, with Villa poised to discover if they are destined to be kings or merely influential players in the title race.