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The thought of another season in the Championship would be enough to send shivers down Aston Villa fans’ spines.
Therefore, achieving promotion on Monday was a huge result for the club, particularly after the mess they’d found themselves in last summer.
The club managed to rally themselves and are now a rejuvenated outfit as they begin to prepare for life back in the Premier League.
But what if they didn’t go up? After all of their efforts, it would have represented a colossal setback.
So how could the team have looked next term if they didn’t beat Derby? We’ve had a go at predicting it.
The most noticeable change to this XI is the absence of Jack Grealish. As hard as he’d have found leaving his boyhood club, another campaign in the second tier would likely have seen him sold.
With both Tottenham and Crystal Palace chasing the player in recent months you can assume he would have been the first player to leave.
As a result, Henri Lansbury may have been one to benefit if they didn’t win at Wembley.
In attack, Jonathan Kodjia replaces Tammy Abraham after his loan spell with the club came to an end. Meanwhile, we’ve tipped Anwar El Ghazi to stay at Villa Park.
The Villans have an option to buy in the terms of his loan agreement so it’s a possibility he will have returned. Of course, he may still return for life in the Premier League.
In defence, Kortney Hause may have signed a permanent deal if Villa stayed in the Championship. Like El Ghazi, there is an option to buy.
New signing Frederic Guilbert slots straight into our predicted XI. Also in defence is James Chester. Despite spending most of the 2018/19 campaign out through injury, he could come back into the side after Tyrone Mings’ and Axel Tuanzebe’s loan deals ended.