Micah Richards has backed Aston Villa to finish in the European places in the Premier League for the fourth season in a row.
Villa have played in the Conference League and Champions League in the past two seasons and will embark on their Europa League campaign in this season’s league phase.
Speaking ahead of the new season, Richards shared his 2025/26 predictions with former England strikers Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, agreeing that Villa will end up towards the top end of the Premier League once more.
Richards concurred with Shearer’s suggestion that Villa will be around the European positions again this season, albeit missing out on their ultimate target of a Champions League return.
“I think something similar to last year; they’ll be in and around six, seven, or something like that,” said the former Newcastle United striker. “I don’t see them having enough to get into the Champions League spots but certainly in a Europa League place.”
Lineker suggested that Emery would keep Villa on the right path but will find Europe’s premier club competition beyond his reach.
“There’s no reason to think that they’ll slip from where they are,” said Lineker. “They’ve got a brilliant coach with great energy. I certainly can’t see that drifting away. I’d say the same, just outside the Champions League spots but in a European place.”
Beyond Villa, the predictions made by the trio of ex-England pundits were unsurprising. Lineker, Shearer and Richards all believe that Liverpool will retain the Premier League title next season.
Along with the Reds, their top four predictions were all combinations of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who finished in the lower reaches of the table last season, could be competing for European spots with Villa, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion, according to the keen-eyed observers and also Richards.
At the other end of the table, the promotion threesome of Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland were tips to be relegated but Richards had an outside bet to suggest too.
“Wolves, Wolves, Wolves,” he said in typically understated fashion. “I think it’s going to be a tough season for Wolves.
“I really like the manager and how confident he is, but I don’t know if the players are good enough to do what he wants to do. I think they do it in little patches. I think it’s a relegation battle for Wolves.”
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