Aston Villa welcomed over 700 guests to Villa Park last week for a festive evening of carols, reflection, and community spirit at the annual Villa Carol Service. The event, facilitated by Club Chaplain Reverend Jon Grant in partnership with Aston Churches Together and Birmingham Churches Together, brought together supporters, local residents, and faith leaders for a celebration of Christmas at the heart of the club on Tuesday, December 9. Guests were greeted from 6:30pm, with stands supporting Toys for Birmingham, the local Foodbank, and the AVFC Foundation, highlighting the club’s commitment to giving back during the festive season. Videos showcasing the Foundation’s work and the fan-favourite All is Claret, All is Blue set the tone for an evening of unity and joy. The service featured uplifting performances from the choir, including renditions of Saviour’s Day, Joy to the World, and Once in Royal David’s City, alongside congregational carols led by Jeff and the choir. Special readings from the Christmas story were delivered by community members and Villa legends, including European Cup winner Kenny Swain, who also shared heartfelt reflections alongside homegrown hero Tony Daley on what Aston Villa and Christmas mean to them. Inspirational contributions came from Bishop Esther, Pastor Calvin Young, and Bishop Mike Royal, who led prayers and interviews, while Villa representatives Sam Ghataora, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, and Maggie Murphy, Managing Director of the Women’s Team, spoke about the club’s values and vision. The evening concluded in traditional style as the crowd moved onto the iconic Holte End to sing Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing a cappella under the winter sky. As guests departed, the Aston Parish Bells rang out – a nostalgic echo of matchday victories from decades past. The Villa Carol Service once again proved to be a memorable occasion, blending music, faith, and community in a way that reflects the true spirit of Christmas. View a gallery from the evening below...

The festive season is well and truly underway at Aston Villa and, to celebrate, we’re recounting some of the most famous and impressive goals scored in claret and blue. Throughout the month of December, Aston Villa's Advent Calendar will reveal a goal which has been notched in Villa history by a player wearing the shirt number corresponding to the day of the month – every day up to Christmas Eve. We'll be counting down to Christmas in style, championing some of the best-ever players to pull on our famous colours, and indeed some of the most iconic goals to have ever been scored for our famous club. Opening the 16th window of the Aston Villa Advent Calendar on December 16, is Calum Chambers... Having arrived in B6 in January 2022, Chambers was making only his fifth appearance in claret and blue when the Villans travelled to Elland Road to take on Leeds United. After securing consecutive wins to end February and start March, beating Brighton 2-0 and Southampton 4-0, Villa were looking for a third successive victory and clean sheet. And, upon visiting Yorkshire, that’s exactly what they did. Philippe Coutinho had put the visitors ahead midway through the first half, before Matty Cash made it 2-0 shortly after the hour mark. And, 17 minutes from time, the points were secured when Chambers popped up to notch a memorable first – and only – goal in claret and blue. After a free-kick into the box was partially cleared only as far as Tyrone Mings, the towering defender took and touch and laid the ball off for Chambers who was lurking on the edge of the area. His fellow defender hit a sublime, swerving first-time effort into the far corner, leaving Illan Meslier rooted to the spot and sending the travelling Villans into dreamland. Chambers peeled off to celebrate opening his account for the club in front of the raucous away end, having sealed a win which saw Villa climb back up to ninth in the table. The Villans would go on to finish 14th in the Premier League that season, with Chambers making a total of 36 appearances in claret and blue before departing in the summer of 2024. Enjoy the goal in all its glory below, and keep your eyes peeled throughout the month for the remainder of the Aston Villa Advent Calendar.

Match report from third round clash in Yorkshire

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Arsenal and City march on, Sunderland enjoy bragging rights, and Ekitiké gives Liverpool fans a much-needed lift Mikel Arteta had the option to frame things differently. The Arsenal manager was even teed up to do so with a generous question in the press conference that followed his side’s 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. Had his team shown the toughness of champions by recovering from a 90th-minute concession to steal all three points? “That’s something very positive but I don’t put it down to resilience,” Arteta replied. It was of a piece with him essentially reading the riot act to his players. They had not turned up at the start, he suggested, and the less said about the closing stages, the better – apart from the last-gasp winner. It is rare to hear Arteta be so critical but he knew his team had got away with one and he wanted them to know, too. Arsenal have a rare blank midweek before they go to Everton for another 8pm kick-off next Saturday. The standards must be higher. David Hytner Match report: Arsenal 2-1 Wolves Match report: Crystal Palace 0-3 Manchester City Match report: Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Brighton Match report: West Ham 2-3 Aston Villa Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Everton Continue reading...

Jamie Carragher was full of praise for Aston Villas Morgan Rogers after his superb performance in the Premier League win at West Ham.

Manchester City continue their ominious form while Aston Villa continue to defy their XG numbers, and Sunderland enjoy their big moment...

Highlights from the Premier League match between West Ham and Aston Villa.

Highlights from the Premier League match between West Ham and Aston Villa.

When can Aston Villa dare to dream? Their standards dropped and their legs looked heavy but their hunger knows no bounds at the moment. They were pushed to the limit by a determined West Ham, who led twice and will feel they did enough to claim a vital win in their battle against relegation, and still Unai Emery’s side managed to strain for a response before emerging victorious for the 15th time in 17 games thanks to Morgan Rogers leading a stunning second-half turnaround. This was not quite as dramatic as last week’s last-gasp victory over Arsenal. This time the decisive goal arrived with 11 minutes left, although its impact felt just as big when Rogers followed an equaliser early in the second half by displaying wonderful technique to put Villa 3-2 up with a moment of individual brilliance. The celebrations spoke volumes. There were long stretches when Villa did not look like title contenders but when it was over they were three points off Arsenal at the top and West Ham were still in the bottom three after tasting defeat for only the second time since October. Continue reading...

FixturesManchester City Women Vs. Aston Villa Women - Sun, Dec 14th 2025, 11:55 Aston Villa hit the road for the final time this year as they travel to take on Manchester City in the Women's Super League this afternoon. Natalia Arroyo's side see out 2025 at the Joie Stadium and two wins in four days will firmly be in the side's sights. The Villans were last in action on Thursday evening as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Villa Park. Rachel Daly got the scoring up and running with only 27 seconds on the clock before Kirsty Hanson doubled their advantage just before the half an hour mark. Daly sealed the victory and made it final home fixture of the year to remember with her second of the evening in the 77th minute. Manchester City also claimed a 3-0 victory the last time they were in action as three late goals saw them defeat Leicester City away from home. A nine minute brace from Khadija Shaw put City in the driving seat in the 83rd minute with Kerolin adding their third four minutes into stoppage time. The victory helped City extend their lead at the top of the league table, at the time, to six points.The Last Meeting These two sides last met in the quarter-final stage of the Women's FA Cup back in March. Second-half goals from Khadija Shaw and Jess Park secured the win for City as the Villans exited the competition.Team News Gabi Nunes (back) and Jill Baijings (knee) both remain long-term absentees. Océane Deslandes is set to return to the matchday squad after serving her one-game suspension on Thursday. Lynn Wilms is currently serving a three-game suspension so is out of contention this aftenoon.

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Match report from UEFA Europa League