These feel like good times at Villa: a promising and unbeaten start to the new season with seven points safely in the bag, a successful transfer window completed, a contract extension signed by Gabby Agbonlahor, a fresh four-year deal in front of Jack Grealish and hopefully only a matter of time before Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar also extend their stays at the club.
Hold on to those thoughts over the coming weeks as Villa attempt to negotiate the toughest possible series of Premier League fixtures. The next five games are against the clubs that finished in the top five last season: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and, first up, Liverpool on Saturday evening. Whatever happens at the end of that sequence, it must be hoped that the improvement Villa have shown in these early weeks won't have completely stalled.
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To Anfield, then, a stadium where Villa have fared pretty well in recent seasons, particularly with Paul Lambert as manager. Villa won 3-1 there in December 2012 and drew 2-2 in January earlier this year, having led 2-0 partway through the first half.
The performances in both games were arguably two of the most impressive witnessed during the Lambert era -- fast and incisive attacking play, pressing high up the field, ruthless on the counter. In fact, watching Villa on those occasions, it was difficult to understand how the same team had looked so uncertain and inconsistent in such a high number of other games.
So there are happy memories of this fixture to provide encouragement for Saturday. Liverpool have injury woes too, with Daniel Sturridge definitely missing as well as one or two others.
That said, the Reds will field the enigmatic Mario Balotelli at centre forward and there may be increased involvement for Rickie Lambert, a striker who gave Villa plenty of problems when at Southampton. Adam Lallana is reportedly in contention for a debut. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers still has plenty of quality to call on -- not least Raheem Sterling, who has started the season in excellent form.
Villa could have a debutant of their own in Tom Cleverley, who provided one of the most intriguing stories of transfer deadline day. Many a Villa supporter retired to bed on Sept. 1 cursing the player's name, furious that a deal that had been worked on for a couple of weeks collapsed in the final hours as Cleverley reportedly preferred Everton -- only to wake the next day to learn a very late loan deal had been agreed to.
Whatever passed between player, agent and the clubs involved on that frenetic last day of business, Cleverley is at Villa. For now, at least. The prospect of a permanent transfer is a possibility in the longer term, but Cleverley's immediate priority is to start playing and kick-start a career which has drifted of late. He needs to start well, and quickly, as he certainly has some ground to make up in terms of convincing skeptical claret and blue fans.
"The deadline day is mayhem, things can go wrong, be on and off, carnage breaking out everywhere," Lambert told the Birmingham Mail, by way of protecting his new acquisition. "He's a top player."
He could be. Cleverley has obviously lost his way at Manchester United, hampered by limited opportunities, being squeezed into a more defensive midfield role than suits his natural game and having the misfortune of breaking into the senior squad at a time when Paul Scholes was beginning to wind down. Comparisons were unrealistic and unfair.
Cleverley is by no means guaranteed a starting place at Villa. Just as Carlos Sanchez has begun games against Newcastle and Hull on the bench so might the sometime England midfielder. Lambert hasn't changed his first choice XI once in three games and may continue with the same line-up against Liverpool.
Nevertheless, there may be sense in starting with Sanchez at Anfield and using the Colombian to provide that extra defensive screen to guard the forward runs of Sterling and Lallana. Cleverley's input may be replacing Ashley Westwood later on in the game, or even further forward. Further into the season I can see Lambert using a midfield diamond with Sanchez at the base, Delph on the left, and Cleverley challenging either Westwood on the right or Charles N'Zogbia (or maybe even Grealish) at the tip.
And that's without considering Kieran Richardson, who doesn't deserve at all to lose his place after an impressive first few games in a Villa shirt. Or Joe Cole, who may yet claim that No. 10/attacking midfield role. Lots of options, possibilities, selection dilemmas and no little quality. It's been some time since a Villa manager has that kind of depth to a squad. Let's see what awaits at Anfield.