Aston Villa’s stunning home form stretched to a club-record 15 games as Saturday’s success against Arsenal took them into elite Premier League company.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at fortress Villa Park.

Record run

Going into their midweek game against Manchester City, Villa’s run of 13 home league wins dating back to last season was already their longest of the Premier League era – but with the champions and their main challengers coming to Birmingham back-to-back, the fun looked set to end.

Instead, winners from Leon Bailey and John McGinn saw Villa kick on to the longest run in their history as their resurgence under manager Unai Emery gathers pace.

Crystal Palace, Brighton and Fulham, twice apiece, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Tottenham, Everton, West Ham and Luton are their other victims.

They have scored 39 goals – conceding only seven, and never more than one in a game. Ollie Watkins is their top scorer in that time with nine goals, one ahead of Douglas Luiz.

Elite company

Villa’s streak ranks among the five longest home winning runs in the Premier League era, with Emery matching Pep Guardiola’s recently concluded streak of 15 with City – who won 10 straight to end last season and their first five this term before draws with Liverpool and Tottenham.

Next in Villa’s sights is Manchester United’s 19 successive home wins between October 2010 and October 2011 – a far cry from United’s current home form.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had the chance to stretch their run to 20 and a full year with maximum points at Old Trafford, only for the run to end in astonishing style as Mario Balotelli inspired City to a 6-1 derby romp.

City hit 20 earlier in their current era of dominance, Roberto Mancini’s side with a perfect Etihad Stadium record from March 2011 to March 2012 when Sunderland, vanquished 5-0 earlier in the sequence, drew 3-3 – the only two points dropped on home soil that season by Mancini’s title-winners.

The record belongs to Liverpool, who won their final seven home games of 2018-19 as they pushed champions City all the way and then their first 17 of their title-winning 2019-20 season – again, the 1-1 draw with Burnley that ended the run marked their only dropped points at home.

They went on to win their next eight and went 68 league games, and over three-and-a-half years, unbeaten at Anfield before remarkably then losing six in a row – a warning to Villa regarding how suddenly things can change.

Good omens

Villa top this season’s home league table with eight wins from eight. Liverpool also have a perfect record but from seven games, while Newcastle have won seven out of eight.

They are third outright with 35 points, only the fifth time in their history they have had such an impressive record after 16 games.

The other occasions when, converting to three points for a win, they would have been on 35 or more are their 19th-century title-winning seasons of 1898-99 and 1899-1900, a runner-up finish in 1910-11 and their most recent title in 1980-81.

Shoaib Bashir – a rookie spinner with “world class” potential – has been handed a shock call-up for England’s new year Test tour of India, just six months after making his first-class debut for Somerset.

The 20-year-old off-spinner only made his LV= Insurance County Championship bow in June but has been fast-tracked to the very highest level after just six senior red-ball appearances.

Bashir’s track record is wafer thin – with 10 wickets to his name at an average of 67 – but he impressed on a recent England Lions training camp in the United Arab Emirates and will travel as one of three uncapped players in a 16-strong squad.

The others, Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Surrey quick Gus Atkinson, have represented their country in white-ball cricket and were fancied to make the five-match trip.

Director of men’s cricket Rob Key heads the selection panel that made a similar call 12 months ago when drafting 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for the tour of Pakistan.

Ahmed, who also travels as one of four frontline slow bowlers, went on to take a five-wicket haul on debut in Karachi and Key insists investing in promising individuals is the correct course – particularly in a discipline that is notoriously under-served by the domestic game.

“Life is always about how good someone’s good is, not how bad their bad is,” he said.

“He’s very raw – he’s going for experience as much as anyone else, albeit we won’t be afraid to play him if required. This is the start of his journey, where we will hopefully see a world-class spinner in the future.

“He’s got one of the higher release points in the game, he just looks like everything that you see in a classical off-spinner: a bit of real craft, a bit of real guile and a decent character as well.

“It can be different if you’re bowling at Virat Kohli out in India in front of 50,000 people but we feel like his character is very solid and he looks like his ceiling is very high.

“It’s very hard, especially for spinners in English cricket to judge them on their numbers as such. You’re not going to expect your spinner to average 24 with the ball in county cricket, you’re trying to see something else and back their character. You want to see how the ball comes out of their hand and make those judgements. You’re going more to the art of selection, rather than the science of selection.”

England may need to continue thinking creatively when it comes to balancing their XI in India, with Key admitting there is next to no chance of captain Ben Stokes being able to bowl so soon after surgery on a longstanding left-knee issue.

Stokes is currently recovering and, while hopes are high he will be ready for the first Test on January 25 in Hyderabad, it will be as a specialist batter.

“The surgery has been a success and we expect him to be fit but we are not expecting him to be able to bowl at that point,” said Key.

“We never had him down to be bowling in India. We won’t try to rush through it. It does make it trickier but, as long as you know that, you can come up with a plan.”

Senior spinner Jack Leach is fit again after a stress fracture of the back saw him miss last summer’s Ashes series, but Chris Woakes drops out following his player-of-the-series efforts against Australia and may have played his last overseas Test.

Hartley, a tall left-armer who England feel can cause problems by spearing the ball quickly into the pitch, has effectively been selected over the more experienced Liam Dawson.

The Hampshire veteran was touted for a possible return after an excellent domestic season but has been left to pursue franchise opportunities. Will Jacks, the big-hitting Surrey all-rounder currently on England white-ball duty in the Caribbean, has also been left out and will take up T20 deals over the winter.

Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes travels despite losing the gloves to Jonny Bairstow against Australia and could be a strong candidate to break back into the first choice XI given the importance of the role in the sub-continent.

With Stuart Broad retired, there are four fast bowlers chosen: James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Atkinson.

England squad for Test tour of India: B Stokes (c), R Ahmed, J Anderson, G Atkinson, J Bairstow (wkt), S Bashir, H Brook, Z Crawley, B Duckett, B Foakes (wkt), T Hartley, J Leach, O Pope, O Robinson, J Root, M Wood.

Love Envoi is pencilled in for a Sandown return after her second-placed performance in the relocated Fighting Fifth on Saturday.

The seven-year-old was back in action after 224 days off the track, her final run of last season being a beaten effort at Punchestown where she picked up an injury.

Prior to that she was enjoying a very successful campaign, however, winning twice at Sandown before being finding just the great Honeysuckle too good in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The complexion of the Fighting Fifth changed twice before the race, firstly because of the relocation of the contest from Newcastle to Sandown and secondly because of the withdrawal of leading hurdler Constitution Hill.

Without Nicky Henderson’s champion in the line-up the Harry Fry-trained Love Envoi started at 6-4 with only Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well more fancied as the 5-4 favourite.

Love Envoi was held up in last place in the early stages of the race and did not jump fluently to start with, but as the contest unfolded she stayed on to chase home Hughie Morrison’s veteran Not So Sleepy, who was an eight-length winner at 9-1.

The runner-up is owned by Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates and the former jockey was not disheartened by the performance after a significant lay-off for the mare.

“She’s fine, she did well to finish second but she was a bit slow and ring rusty early on,” he said.

“Then when she got into it she actually ran a good race in the end.

“The first two she jumped really up in the air and slow, she was definitely ring-rusty but she warmed up into it and came from a long way back.

“Overall it was a good run. I wouldn’t think the ground had anything to to do with it, I’d be surprised if it did.

“Harry always said she was only just about ready to start so I think she will come on plenty for the run.”

One of Love Envoi’s Sandown successes last term was the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares’ Hurdle in early January, a race that she will now target again.

Fehily said: “We’ll head to Sandown for the mares’ hurdle she won last year, all roads lead back there at the minute.”

The Fehily syndicates also had another runner-up at the meeting as Insurrection came home second in the Grade Two Betfair Beacons Winter Novices’ Hurdle.

The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding was making his second start over obstacles after an easy win on debut last month, lining up at Sandown a 5-2 chance under Harry Cobden.

He looked the winner for almost all of the race and was only passed on the run to the line as Dan Skelton’s Deafening Silence headed him before the post.

“We were very happy with him, he looked the winner jumping the last but he just didn’t quite stay on that ground up the hill,” said Fehily.

“He’s a lovely young horse, he jumps for fun, we were very impressed with him.

“We don’t have any plans at the minute, we’ll give him a week or two and then make plans, it’ll be after Christmas and new year probably.”

Baroness Dido Harding will become senior steward of the Jockey Club next year, making her the first woman to hold the role in the organisation’s 273-year history.

The unpaid position is currently held by Sandy Dudgeon, whose term expires in July when Harding will take over, chairing the Jockey Club’s main board, which sets the strategic direction of the organisation and oversees the executive functions.

In 2017, Harding, 56, was appointed to the board of stewards of the Jockey Club, which owns high-profile racecourses such as Epsom, Newmarket, Cheltenham and Aintree, having been a member since 2004.

She is a former chief executive of TalkTalk and initially oversaw the government’s test-and-trace programme during the coronavirus pandemic.

She also rode more than 25 winners as an amateur jockey and owned 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Cool Dawn, the horse she had ridden the previous year to finish second in the Festival hunter chase.

More recently she won the Magnolia Cup in 2017, winning Goodwood’s charity race at the third attempt having previously finished second twice.

She was in the winner’s circle at the end of last month, when the Robert Walford-trained Hipop Des Ongrais won at Hereford.

“As a lifelong racing enthusiast, it is a huge privilege to be appointed senior steward,” said Harding.

“The Jockey Club holds a unique position to both protect the sport’s heritage and tradition and also to innovate to attract and delight racegoers of the future to ensure horseracing can thrive for generations to come.”

Dudgeon added: “Dido has been a terrific asset to the board of stewards since she joined in 2017. She has brought a wealth of experience, deep knowledge of the industry and a lifelong enthusiasm for our sport. I would like to wish her every success as senior steward when she takes up the role in July next year.”

In other Jockey Club news, Grand National-winning rider Sam Waley-Cohen will join the board of stewards from January 1, 2024, while the late Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall has become a member, as has racing presenter Rishi Persad.

Giorgio Chiellini is delighted to see Juventus challenging at the Serie A summit again, but he struggles to see the Bianconeri winning the Scudetto this term.

Chiellini won nine Serie A titles during his distinguished spell with Juve, which came to an end at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season as he left for Los Angeles FC in MLS.

In their first season after the defender's departure, Juve finished seventh in Serie A, hampered by a 10-point deduction that was handed down following an investigation into the club's finances. 

However, Massimiliano Allegri has overseen a revival of their fortunes this campaign, with the Bianconeri sitting two points behind Inter at the top of Serie A after 15 games.

A 1-0 win over Napoli briefly took Juventus top on Friday, only for Inter to recapture the lead by thrashing Udinese 4-0.

While Chiellini has been impressed by his former club's resurgence, he believes toppling the Nerazzurri is a tough ask.

"It will be hard," he told Stats Perform.

"If they can be as consistent as Inter, if they arrive in that situation in March, I think it could be a possibility, but it's hard following a team for many months in a row. 

"We'll see, we'll see. I'm very happy obviously that they are having a good season and I hope they can finish first and win the title. 

"I think the key is the consistency of Inter, who are by far the favourites for the league." 

Juventus' off-pitch problems have refused to go away this term, though, with midfielder Paul Pogba suspended by the club after testing positive for heightened levels of testosterone following a win over Udinese in August.

Pogba's B sample also returned a positive test result, and he could face a ban of between two and four years if found guilty of doping.

Chiellini was a team-mate of Pogba's during the Frenchman's first spell in Turin between 2012 and 2016, and he says the midfielder's current situation is sad to see.

Asked how he responded to Pogba's positive test, Chiellini said: "I just text him because I knew him as a kid, from when he was 19. I love him as a good guy and I'm very sad for the situation. 

"I don't know other things, just what is public, because I cannot ask him; 'What happened? Did you do this?' It's something very bad. 

"I just ask people to be close to him and give support to him. I'm very sad and I don't know how to finish this type of situation. Everyone who has known Paul in his life will be very sad about what's happening."

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Scottish Open citing medical reasons.

The 48-year-old world number one, who earlier this month won a record-extending eighth UK Championship title in York, had been due to face Liam Graham in the opening round, but Graham will now receive a bye.

O’Sullivan is a two-time winner of the Scottish Open, beating John Higgins in the 1998 final and seeing off Mark Williams two years later.

He was runner-up to Mark Selby in 2020, losing the final 9-5.

Although his 10-7 win over Ding Junhui in the UK Championship final made the seven-time world champion both the youngest and oldest ever winner of the competition, O’Sullivan has recently had issues away from the table.

He withdrew from the Champion of Champions tournament in November, saying he was “mentally feeling a bit drained and stressed” after taking part at the International Championship in China.

Aston Villa are just two points off the Premier League summit after their victory over Arsenal on Saturday.

Not only did Villa boss Unai Emery get one over his former club but the 1-0 triumph saw his side extend their winning league run at home to 15 games.

Emery and his players are not entertaining talk of a surprise title run but, here, the PA news agency looks at how Villa are defying the odds to fight at the top of the table.

What impact has Emery had?

When Emery was chosen to replace Steven Gerrard in the Villa Park hotseat last November, the club were among the sides that could have been dragged into a relegation battle. The Spaniard, however, turned things around and Villa finished the season in seventh, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. This season, things have improved even more, and since Emery’s arrival he has overseen 26 wins from his 41 Premier League games in charge.

Who has shone under Emery?

Any team wanting to compete towards the top of the table is likely to need a prolific goalscorer – and Villa can call on Ollie Watkins as the man to consistently find the back of the net. Emery can again lay claim to helping the England striker improve his output and the 27-year-old has hit eight Premier League goals this season, while also laying on six assists. Watkins has also seemingly taken the spot as back-up to Harry Kane in the England squad and he will be keen to continue his club form in the hopes of heading to Euro 2024 next summer.

Anyone else?

Several players inherited by Emery have improved under the Spaniard – the likes of Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and the aforementioned Watkins, for example. Villa also added Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby in the summer with the trio playing their part in helping Emery’s side make improvements. Emery can also call on World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez, who was also crowned the world’s best goalkeeper at the Ballon D’Or ceremony last month.

Hitting a home run

Villa have won all 15 of their Premier League home games since losing 4-2 to Arsenal in February. It is a club-record run that has turned them into, at this stage of the season, bona fide title contenders. In the space of four days, Villa beat reigning champions Manchester City and last season’s runners-up Arsenal to show they can mix it with the best the league has to offer.

What are their festive fixtures like?

Villa have a great chance to further extend their winning home run as relegation-threatened pair Sheffield United and Burnley are next up at Villa Park. A trip to Brentford on Sunday follows the final game of their Europa Conference League group, where they travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina to take on Zrinjski Mostar knowing a point is enough to progress as group winners. They then face a Boxing Day trip to Manchester United but, with Old Trafford no longer the fortress it once was, Villa will fancy their chances.

Italy great Giorgio Chiellini believes the Azzurri have a bright future ahead of them and says critics have been overly pessimistic regarding their chances at Euro 2024.

Chiellini captained Italy as they overcame England in the final of Euro 2020, but the Azzurri have not been widely tipped to retain their crown after enduring a difficult few years.

Having missed out on the last two World Cups, Italy somewhat scraped their way through qualifying for next year's tournament in Germany, losing home and away to England and requiring a nervy 0-0 draw with Ukraine on the final matchday to avoid the playoffs.

Ahead of Luciano Spalletti's first major tournament in charge, Italy have been drawn to face Spain, Croatia and Albania in a difficult-looking group, but Chiellini believes reports of the Azzurri's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

"I know the Italian draw very well. Croatia and Spain are good teams with experience, with good players," the defender told Stats Perform.

"Albania is our biggest friend that we face. We are very happy that they joined the Euros. I have a lot of Albanian friends and they deserve it. We have to respect that. 

"Obviously, we will try to pass through the group, arrive in the quarter-finals and then we'll see. We have seen also in the last [Euros], we were lucky. 

"I guess also in the round of 16 [against Austria], and we were lucky to win on penalties in the last two games, but at the end we deserved to win. 

"There is a good cycle, a new cycle, with good young players. I think that could be a good spine for the national team. 

"I don't know if they need maybe more time to be in the right moment and in their prime to win, but there is a bright future for the Italian national team."  

Asked who excited him most in the current Italy setup, Chiellini said: "I think [Gianluigi] Donnarumma is by far the best young goalkeeper that we could have and he's really special.

"[Alessandro] Bastoni is a fantastic defender and we have a lot of amazing midfielders. [Marco] Verratti is just 31, he's not 40 like me! We have a good midfield.

"[Federico] Chiesa is someone that could break every line in every moment of the game. Italy have a good team. 

"Now I hope that there are new faces arriving because we have a good academy for the national team, with players coming through. 

"We have a good coach, everything is good. Sometimes in Italy, we are too pessimistic with the team and we talk badly, but I think that we have a bright future and a really good team."

Grand Sefton hero Gesskille will be given another opportunity to showcase his prowess over a unique jumping test when he takes on the challenge of Cheltenham’s cross-country track on Friday.

The seven-year-old has developed a real affinity to the Grand National fences at Aintree since joining Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero and having gone close in both the Grand Sefton and Becher last season, returned to Liverpool last month to get his head in front.

Gesskille’s training team are now preparing him for a first taste of Prestbury Park in the Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Handicap Chase and a race that could contain high-class Gordon Elliott pair Conflated and Galvin, as well as former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.

However, Greenall is hopeful his charge will relish his next assignment in a race which could help determine whether a return to Aintree for the Grand National is on the cards for 2024.

Greenall said: “It’s obviously a unique track and it’s hard to know what type of horse likes it. He’s ran in France, not in a cross-country, but in a normal chase which is a bit similar to a cross-country race, but not really the same.

“He’s going to go for a school (at Cheltenham) and I’m sure he will enjoy the jumping, it’s just the twisting and turning to work out. We just felt it might be a good option for him.

“He’s been in good form (since Aintree) and he will probably have a break after this and we will aim him at either the National or Auteuil in the spring.”

Erik ten Hag is confident his inconsistent but talented Manchester United side can beat Bayern Munich to stay in Europe as they pray for a Champions League miracle.

The Red Devils’ Group A campaign has been punctuated by goals, madness and mistakes, leaving their hopes of reaching the knockout phase hanging by a thread.

United have just four points and sit bottom of the pool heading into the final match against already-qualified Bayern, meaning progress is out of their hands.

Ten Hag’s men need to become the first side to beat the German outfit in a Champions League group game since September 2017 and hope Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw in the other game.

United are guaranteed at least a place in the Europa League if they win on a night that the Dutchman is heading into without thinking about the impact of failing to qualify from the group.

He said: “I don’t know. What I know is I never think in a negative scenario. We think positive, so we know what to do.

“We have to win to stay in Europe, so it’s all about that.

“We will prepare the team with that feeling and with that belief that we are able to do it and I think we have shown in the last weeks when we are on our best then we can do it.”

United limp into this match on the back of Saturday’s awful 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, which led Ten Hag to admit his team were not good enough to be consistent high performers.

But the Dutchman remains confident his side possesses the quality to beat the best as they look to end Bayern’s competition record 39-match unbeaten group-stage run.

“It’s our team (that gives me hope),” Ten Hag said. “We are not consistent. Clear.

“But we have also a very good performance and highs, so if we get it when we are in the right spirit, then we are able to do it and we are able to beat any opponent.

“The game against Chelsea (gives me belief), the game against Everton, even the game against Galatasaray.

“So, I know this team can perform really at high levels and it’s not that we did it three months ago. No, we did it last week, so I know we can do it.

“When we have the right mood, we have the right spirit, it starts with the right attitude, if everyone is ready for it, we are able to do it.”

United’s previous two Champions League matches have been on the road – a 4-3 defeat to Copenhagen at a rocking Parken Stadium before receiving their ‘Welcome to Hell’ in Turkey a fortnight ago.

Ten Hag’s men blew a two-goal lead in a frustrating 3-3 draw at hostile Galatasaray and the Red Devils boss stressed the importance of the Old Trafford crowd on Tuesday.

“I think Old Trafford is not a nice place to come for an opponent, and we are aware of it,” Ten Hag said.

“It starts with us but then, of course, you hope that the fans we are together.

“As long as I’m here, I always have the feeling we are absolutely together. There’s a very strong bond between the team and the fans.

“They’re always behind this, even when we have big setbacks. They’re staying behind us, they’re supporting us, so very happy with that.

“But we have to take the responsibility. It starts with us, we have to energise them.”

United are still juggling with a number of key injuries as they prepare to host Bayern and travel to rivals Liverpool on Sunday, with Victor Lindelof a doubt having missed the Bournemouth defeat through injury.

“It’s a condensed programme, so we have a training (to come),” Ten Hag said.

“So in this moment, I’m not sure about everyone and who is available for tomorrow.

“So, a question mark is, for instance, on Victor Lindelof if he can make it or not.

“We have to wait and to see until tomorrow, then we know.”

Joseph O’Brien’s Fakir D’oudairies adds a touch of class to proceedings at Cheltenham as he tops the 15 confirmed for the Virgin Bet December Gold Cup Handicap Chase.

The eight-year-old has been something of a stable star for O’Brien over the years, picking up Grade One prizes at both Aintree and Ascot and regularly seen competing against the very best.

He now drops into handicap company for his seasonal return, with his Owning Hill handler confirming he is on course to appear at Prestbury Park on Saturday.

“The plan is for him to run at Cheltenham,” said O’Brien.

“It will be nice to get him back started this season and it looks a good place for his reappearance. Hopefully he goes well dropping in class.”

Fakir D’oudairies is one of two possible runners in the race for owner JP McManus with Emmet Mullins’ So Scottish another potential raider from Ireland.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls also has two bullets to fire with Monmiral joining Paddy Power Gold Cup third Il Ridoto on the Ditcheat teamsheet.

“I’m looking forward to Saturday, they’re both in great shape,” Nicholls said in his ‘Ditcheat Diary’ on Betfair.

“Bryony (Frost) is going to ride Il Ridoto and Harry (Cobden) is going to ride Monmiral. We’ve just schooled them both and they’re both in good order.

“Monmiral is a Grade One winner coming back from a few problems, I’m looking forward to running him.”

Richard Hobson’s Fugitif has a fine Cheltenham record and attempts to better his fourth at the track last month now switching to the New course which suits him better, while Thunder Rock saw the form of his winning Carlisle reappearance franked by the runner-up Mahler Mission at Newbury and will represent trainer Olly Murphy.

Scotland will meet the Netherlands and Northern Ireland in March friendlies next year as they step up preparations for Euro 2024.

Steve Clarke’s side will visit the Dutch on Friday, March 22, with the venue to be confirmed by the hosts in the near future.

Hampden will then host its first men’s international of the year when Northern Ireland visit on Tuesday, March 26, Scotland announced on Monday.

The Scots are in the process of arranging further friendlies in early June ahead of the showpiece tournament that gets under way in Germany later that month.

Scotland last faced the Dutch in June 2021 when they drew 2-2 in a friendly prior to the last European Championship, while their last meeting with Northern Ireland was a friendly at Hampden in 2015 when Christophe Berra secured a 1-0 win.