Aston Villa shocked their fans in 2015/16 when they started the season off terribly and then never looked at improving. Their late-season form was particularly atrocious last season as they found just one point from a tie game from Valentine's Day 2016 onward. If they go through a similar kind of skid this season in Championship League to conclude their campaign then they might find themselves relegated for the second straight year.

Aston Villa soon to be in League One?

AVFC lost their most recent match, a 2-0 loss to Newcastle, a team very hopeful for promotion to Premier League next season.

The result certainly was not unexpected in any way: the Villans have lost all of their matches in the Championship League save one since the start of the current calendar year. The one game that did not end in defeat for Aston Villa was still only a tie. The result is a near free fall in the standings that should be sparking increased relegation talk soon.

Following play on Tuesday in Championship League, Aston Villa are down in 17th spot in the 24-team league. With teams finishing 22nd to 24th relegated, AVFC are still six points clear of Wigan Athletic, the team currently in 22nd place. For those worried about their team replacing Wigan in relegation, it will come as good news that they lost on Tuesday to QPR.

But in the broader context, as losers of five straight league matches Aston Villa have lost at least some ground to every team of late. Wolverhampton, who have just one recent win, have gained points on A.V. in the Championship League standings in 2017. Furthermore, even Rotherham United, foregone conclusions for relegation, have one point in their last five league matches - one more point than what AVFC have over the same time frame.

With Rotherham only having 17 points in the standings they are near certain to take up one spot in any realistic relegation treble.

It seems right now that the other two spots will be occupied by Blackburn, Wigan, Bristol, Burton, Wolverhampton, and/or Aston Villa. Birmingham City might also enter the mix as they've played badly enough of late to warrant discussion. However in 16th spot right now they are four clear of both A.V. and Wolverhampton, meaning it would take two game weeks at the minimum for them to fall even to just 17th spot.

Aston Villa have Derby, Bristol next

At present teams aren't on even terms when it comes matches played and the good news for Aston Villa fans is that they have one match at hand over some other teams. However, there's a probable loss coming up to Derby County (February 25th). Before the end of the month Aston Villa also play Bristol City.

That's another team that is flirting with going down to League One so the upcoming match between the two clubs might give the winner a vital edge down the stretch when it comes to fighting to stay up.
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