West Midlands Football Review: Wins for Villa and Birmingham headline strong week

This weekend was a rather strong one for West Midlands clubs, with only two defeats for the clubs across two rounds of fixtures.

Two of those wins came from the Second City, with eternal rivals Aston Villa and Birmingham City both grabbing impressive wins.

Wolves were the only team to slip to defeat, continuing their tough start to the season after an equally tough summer.

Aston Villa put their humbling defeat to Newcastle United last week behind them by battering Everton. Captain John McGinn started the scoring, with a penalty from Douglas Luiz, a fine finish from Leon Bailey, and a first Villa goal for Jhon Duran wrapping up the win.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wolves were thumped at home by Brighton. A Solly March brace was helped by goals from Pervis Estupinan and Kaoru Mitoma in a tough afternoon for Wolves. Hwang Hee-chan did grab a consolation in the second half, but Matheus Nunes was also given a late red card.

In the Championship, Birmingham City continued their strong start to the season with a win over 10-man Bristol City. Goals from Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz were enough for the win as Blues fired themselves into the top four.

Coventry City played out a relatively uneventful game in their draw away at Swansea City. Matt Godden grabbed his third goal in his last four games in all competitions, but this was swiftly canceled out by Jerry Yates. Coventry now sit 10th in the table.

Stoke City fans have a new hero as Andre Vidigal continued his electric start in red and white. The Portuguese star scored his fourth goal in as many games as Alex Neil’s side eased past Watford and up to eighth in the league.

Carlos Corberan’s West Brom’s early struggles continued as they drew away to Leeds United. Brandon Thomas-Asante’s opener was cancelled out by Luke Ayling as Albion settle in 13th place.

Moving into League One, Port Vale started their double-header with a goalless draw away to recently relegated Blackpool. They then followed this up with an impressive win away to Charlton, with goals from James Wilson, Ethan Chislett, and a late winner from Funso Ojo securing the points. Vale have now moved into the top 10, sitting in eighth place.

Shrewsbury Town also played twice this week, starting off with a win away to bottom-place Burton Albion. Goals from Tom Bayliss and Che Dunkley gave Salop a comfortable advantage, meaning a 97th-minute Mason Bennett goal was only a consolation. They lost their weekend fixture at home to Lincoln, leaving them 12th in the league.

Finally, Walsall endured a difficult gameweek, starting with a heavy defeat to Wrexham. Goals from Will Boyle, Ollie Palmer, Jake Bickerstaff, and Elliot Lee condemned the Saddlers to defeat, despite getting two goals of their own. They then failed to respond to the defeat, blowing a two-goal lead away to Crewe Alexandra. A late equaliser from Jack Powell left Walsall sitting 17th.

There are plenty of midweek fixtures this week across European and EFL Trophy football. Aston Villa will play their first European fixture in 13 years as they head north of the border to play Scottish side Hibs in the Europa Conference League. Meanwhile, Walsall host Brighton’s Under-21s in the EFL Trophy with Shrewsbury heading to Forest Green Rovers and Port Vale hosting Crewe.