Aston Villa v Burnley - Match preview

Much as the current two-match winless run constitutes Villa’s biggest wobble of the season so far, Emery knows it will quickly be in the rearview mirror should his team overcome 19th placed Burnley tomorrow.

The Spaniard’s mood in the immediate aftermath of the collapse at Old Trafford was a curious one. By any measure, the defeat ranked among the lowest moments of his reign to date, Villa having dropped their first points from a winning position this season and missed the chance to widen the distance between themselves and their hosts in the table.

Emery, for the most part, was more reflective than frustrated, keen to point out his team had hit the midway point of the season with a point tally far exceeding expectation.

“We missed a very good opportunity but it has still been a very good first half of the season,” he said. “Now we look to Saturday, we will try to go again and prepare as best as possible for the match.”

Even so, tomorrow’s match will be one approached by supporters with a little more trepidation than a week ago.

Last Friday’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United punctured the aura of Villa being an unstoppable force on home turf and having then failed to respond to a setback for the first time this season at Old Trafford, the pressure has just been raised an added notch.

Pau Torres should at least be back available following an ankle injury while Matty Cash also returns from suspension.

Yet Boubacar Kamara, badly missed as the tide turned against United, remains out as he completes a three-match ban while Lucas Digne is the latest player to be sidelined through injury.

Though the hamstring problem sustained against United is not believed to be serious, the left-back is expected to be missing for several weeks and may not return until the visit of Newcastle at the end of next month. Alex Moreno, who missed the first three months of the season through injury, is poised for his first sustained run in the team since the start of last season.

Whether the past two results have been a blip or evidence Villa are finally beginning to feel the pace of trying to keep up in a title race is too early to say. Even another poor result tomorrow would not be definitive.

A win would restore some confidence, however, ahead of a sparse January calendar which features just two league fixtures.

Record signing Moussa Diaby is among those who will be eager to rediscover some form. The France international made one and scored one in August’s 3-1 win at Turf Moor but has found the net only twice since.