Unai Emery has built a side with high standards and a squad with depth – they’ll need both in the coming weeksSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here Most teams in the battle for Champions League qualification are staggering to the line, battered, exhausted, done in by a season that feels like it finished in February but somehow still has a month to run. But as they falter, Aston Villa have seemingly found another gear. Liverpool are secure in the Champions League qualification slots and Arsenal soon will be, which leaves the remaining three places between five contenders who are separated by just two points, although Nottingham Forest face Tottenham on Monday. Forest, though, have won just three of their last eight in the league. Newcastle had won six in a row in all competitions before Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Villa. Manchester City are unbeaten in five in the league. Chelsea have won five of their last 11 in the league and have a notably tough run-in. But Villa have won 10 of 11 in all competitions, the only blip their Champions League defeat away to Paris Saint-Germain. There is no question that they are the side in form. This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition. Continue reading...