This week’s episode carries us to the Midlands, to a stadium that hasn’t seen Premier League football for three years. Home of the Peaky Blinders, Birmingham boasts its own Peaky Blinder, Jack Grealish, who is the star of today’s team: Aston Villa. 

Having dropped down into the Championship in 2016, Villa fans thought that their return to the top table of English football was a matter of course. But a 13th place finish and then a play-off final loss had them rethinking things when the season started. 

Even midway through last season, their Championship credentials seemed guaranteed for another year until Dean Smith’s side went on a ten-game unbeaten run which set them up for play-off triumph and a glorious return to the Premier League. 

But what awaits them in the top division of English football? Is it straight back down or can they hang on and cement their place in the league that their fans see as their rightful place?

My guest this week is one of the biggest names in Aston Villa fan media - James Rushton is the editor of 7500 to Holte, a Villa fan site and podcast hosted by SB Nation.