Could 2026 be Aston Villa's year? Nine straight wins in all competitions - closing in on the club record 11 set in 1897 - have catapulted Unai Emery's side into title contention. The run has come after Villa failed to win any of their opening five Premier League matches and went longer than any other side in the football league without scoring.

They host Manchester United on Sunday before travelling to Chelsea and playing leaders Arsenal to finish the year - three games which could define their role in the title race, where they can be kingmakers or kings. Villa have not won a major trophy since lifting the League Cup in 1996 but, sitting third in both the Premier League and Europa League, their drought could come to an end in spectacular style.

Emery will not bow to any external demands to declare Villa are in the title race. However, the stats tell a story as their only Premier League 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 epitomised the strength of his side and the momentum they now carry.

"We are not feeling under pressure, we are feeling ambitious and we try to challenge in Europe and in the Premier League," Emery said after that win. "Enjoy each match, try to prepare then rest. The players must feel comfortable doing it. This is the process we are doing. Now it is [the match against] Manchester United. I like how the players are responding, how they are getting the challenges we are sending. Now everything is done and we go again."

Emery has been careful to avoid putting any additional spotlight on his Villa players. After all, they are earning enough attention through their stunning form. That form is in stark contrast to a start of the season in which they were winless after their six opening games, including a Carabao Cup loss to Brentford, and did not even score in the league until the 1-1 draw at Sunderland on 21 September.

The squad held a meeting to assess their alarming start and discuss how to return to form. There was a recognition there had been a hangover from missing out on the Champions League. Villa finished sixth last season and missed out on the top five on goal difference following a controversial defeat by Manchester United on the final day.

Since the draw at the Stadium of Light they have won 15 of their 17 games, including beating Manchester City 1-0 and this month's dramatic 2-1 win over Arsenal. There has also been evolution rather than revolution under Emery as seven Villa players who played in the head coach's first match - a 3-1 victory against United in November 2022 when Villa were 14th - remain key now. Emi Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins started, while John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara came off the bench. Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne were also involved.

That core group helped carry Villa to the brink of a Champions League return, but Emery believes they could now achieve even more. "The last year is an example and it's an experience for us. Sometimes we were performing well, we were achieving our objective, but maybe if we were getting our demands higher, maybe even we could get something more," he said.

"This is the third year I am here, I am really very motivated, but [also] more demanding than when I arrived here. So, my objective has a lot of things to improve, a lot of things to work [on], a lot of things to set as a target [and to be] ambitious. The first [objective] is to beat Manchester United."

The last time Villa lifted top-level silverware - beating Leeds 3-0 in the League Cup - the Prodigy's Firestarter had knocked Take That's cover of How Deep Is Your Love off the No.1 spot in the charts and Wallace and Gromit's A Close Shave had just won an Oscar. David Beckham was yet to make his England debut while Cash, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and Emi Buendia were not born.

It has been a long wait, with Villa losing two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals since. Emery, a Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villarreal in previous roles, stated on his first day in charge the main goal was to win a trophy. Last season's FA Cup semi-final defeat to eventual winners Crystal Palace still stings. A Europa Conference League semi-final defeat by Olympiacos 18 months ago and the thrilling Champions League quarter-final exit to Paris St-Germain in April show they are getting closer.

"The semi-final in the Conference League and Champions League quarter-final, they were big nights for us, big moments in which we haven't delivered," captain John McGinn told reporters. "Every time we go into a big game now, we have that determination in the back of our heads to prove 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. The determination, I can feel it this year. I can feel we want to prove a point. I think until we do that, there will always be questions asked. As captain, you feel that probably twice as much, but when that day finally comes, you will feel it positively, twice as much."