Aston Villa return to Championship action this weekend when they host struggling Brentford at Villa Park.

Steve Bruce’s men have made an underwhelming start to the new campaign with just one win from their opening five matches, although there were signs of improvement in their few games prior to the international break.

The Villans eased past Norwich City 4-2 on August 19 before reaching the third round of the Carabao Cup a few days later with a 4-1 success over Wigan Athletic, and although they fell behind at Bristol City on August 25, they rescued a 1-1 draw from their visit to Ashton Gate.

That result leaves Villa 18th in the Championship over the international break but with some momentum ahead of the return of the league season, and they have received some good news recently as well as reports suggest that they have avoided a possible Financial Fair Play punishment.

The club reported a deficit of £81.3 million back in February of this year, and with £83 million the limit, the Villans were perilously close to a sanction were they not able to offload some players over the summer.

However, they generated a reported £18 million from the nine player departures over the summer, and with little spent on incomings, the club have thus avoided a possible sanction.

And this has stimulated quite a response from Villa supporters on Twitter, who have unsurprisingly welcomed the recent news…