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Aston Villa look like having to settle for a place outside of the top six this term, with consistency being a real issue for the Villans so far.

A change in manager has seen a turnaround in fortunes from an attacking sense under Dean Smith, but Villa are still leaking goals too easily, and look a long way from being of the required quality to ambush the play-off race.

However, in Tammy Abraham they have one of the most exciting talents in the league, and while ever Villa have him in form, they will fancy themselves for a late push.

There have been times this season too where Villa have been at their scintillating best and appeared to be turning a corner, and if they can rediscover that sort of form and level of performance on a regular basis, they could well have a good end to the campaign.

That got us here at FLW thinking, and so we took a look back at Villa's THREE best performances of the season so far...

[snack_break title="Derby County away"]

A late flurry of goals from Villa saw them dispatch their Midlands rivals in what was a tight affair up to the 70th minute at Pride Park.

However, goals from John McGinn, Tammy Abraham, and Conor Hourihane steered home the Villans and showed their fans just what they can be capable of on their day.

[snack_break title="Birmingham City at home"]

It's always nice to get one over on your nearest rivals and Villa did just this with an excellent 4-2 win over the Blues.

After falling behind, Villa rallied to go 3-1 up, and although they allowed the Blues back into the game, a fourth goal from popular defender Alan Hutton sealed all three points for Dean Smith's men.

It was a fine showing all around, and gave the club a big boost just before Christmas.

[snack_break title="Middlesbrough away"]

A game which saw Villa almost stroll to victory was a fine showing of just how good they can be away from home.

It was a fourth win in five games for Villa who began to make a charge at the top six at the beginning of December.

A goal for experienced workhorse Glenn Whelan capped a fine display which also saw James Chester and Tammy Abraham get in on the act.]

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