Aston Villa picked up a superb three points at the weekend, with a 3-0 victory away at promotion rivals Middlesbrough.

The Villans look a revitalised unit under Dean Smith, and it is now five wins in eight games for the former Brentford boss, as he looks to guide his boyhood club to promotion this term.

What makes Saturday afternoon look even more impressive from a Villa perspective, is that before the weekend, Boro had lost just one game at home all season, and had conceded only three league goals at the Riverside - so to go there and smash Pulis' men by three goals to nil shows the strides that Villa have made since the appointment of Smith.

The West Midlands club now find themselves sitting in 8th position and just three points off the playoff places - but with over a half of the season left to play, the Villa Park faithful will remain optimistic that their side can form an automatic promotion push, especially with the squad they have on paper.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why Villa are genuine top two contenders...

Every team pushing for promotion needs a goalscorer, and Abraham, as expected, has been sensational up top for Villa since his loan arrival from Chelsea.

The 21-year-old bagged Villa's second goal of the afternoon against Boro - taking his tally up to 11 goals in 15 matches this term with 7 goals in his last 4 games.

The powerful forward is on fire, and he will continue to be a hugely important player in Villa's promotion push.

As alluded to before, Villa can score goals without a problem.

To go to the Riverside and score three goals against a Boro side that had conceded just 10 goals in 19 league games beforehand, shows just how clinical and dangerous Villa are going forward.

If it's not Abraham, it's Kodjia, and if it's not Kodjia, it's Hourihane, and if it's not him, then Villa have a plethora of attacking talent from wide areas and central-midfield that can push forward and grab a goal.

Having scored 17 goals in their last five games, it's clear that Smith's attractive brand of football is working wonders at Villa.

It doesn't take a genius to realise that Villa's Achilles heel this term has been their defence.

They have conceded 30 goals in the league this season, which in contrast to their promotion rivals, is 13 more than Leeds, 17 more than Middlesbrough, and even 6 more than arch-rivals Birmingham.

But Smith has already addressed these issues, having already reportedly agreed to sign former West Ham United defender James Collins on a five-week deal.

There are bound to be further defensive reinforcements in January, and if they can shore up their defence, Villa really could be a force to be reckoned with this season.