Villa knew they needed a defensive midfielder in the summer. Their failure to sign one has left them in a precarious position
![Where next for Aston Villa and Dean Smith after four straight defeats?](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bac1e27b362e5dd5c8712f27be36d5d633f2bb36/0_166_4044_2426/master/4044.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=fb142600274908475d9f539c31840d96)
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored
Venture back a couple of weeks to Villa Park and, with 10 minutes to play against Midlands rivals Wolves, Villa hold a seemingly comfortable 2-0 lead. Seeing that win out would have left Villa with 13 points after eight games, putting them just two points off the top four. Instead, after a shambolic late collapse to Bruno Lage’s side and subsequent defeats to
Arsenal and West Ham, Villa’s position is a suddenly precarious one. Rather than gazing up at the top four, they are glancing down at the relegation zone.
Villa are in a terrible run of form, having lost four league games in a row. Greuther Furth, who were promoted to the Bundesliga this season, are the only club in Europe’s top five leagues on a longer losing streak. Villa have not lost five straight league games since February 2017, when they were in the Championship under Steve Bruce. With a trip to Southampton – who have picked up seven points from their last available nine – coming up at the weekend, the pressure is mounting on Dean Smith.