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In his latest column, Sky Sports’ Paul Merson explains why one of Aston Villa’s high-performing team is the most underrated player in the Premier League.

Villa are fifth in the table but only four points off the top of the division following the 4-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, which was their 11th straight home league victory.

Manager Unai Emery said his side were not top-four contenders despite their run of form. The Magic Man has pinpointed where his former club need to improve to turn that around – and revealed which of their players he feels doesn’t get the credit they deserve…

‘Luiz is most underrated player in PL’

Douglas Luiz is the most underrated player in the Premier League. No-one talks about him. He turns up for Aston Villa week in, week out.

He’s box to box, he scores goals and passes the ball extremely well. He’s just a very good player. Villa have got a good team. They have a lot of underrated players.

They’ve now got to try and keep the players fit. Clubs will also come sniffing around Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz, especially if the goals keep flowing, particularly for Watkins.

He’s such an improved player under Emery.

‘Villa need to change away momentum to reach top four’

Aston Villa are a big club. They are doing really well at the moment. To win 11 games in a row at home is some achievement. I don’t care who you are, it takes some doing.

They just have to try and keep that momentum going. It’s now a big game at AZ Alkmaar coming up this week in the Europa Conference League. They’ve got a real chance to follow West Ham and win that competition.

Unai Emery has done brilliantly since arriving at Villa Park. He’s got them scoring goals, lots of goals. There are also goals all over the pitch.

He got behind the eight ball at Arsenal. If you get behind at a big club it becomes difficult and so hard to get in front again.

That’s what happened at Arsenal. It was a slow start and then it’s difficult to get back in front again. At Villa, he’s hit the ground running and the fans love him.

If Villa get into the top four, they will be pulling up massive trees. The manager will get knighted.

However, there is a long way to go. They are a long way off winning the league, in my opinion, but I’m interested to see how they keep going.

They are still very inconsistent away from home. They’ve been to Newcastle and Liverpool and been hammered.

To even get into the top four, you need to pick up points on the road. You can’t just be consistent at home. So, they need to change that momentum away from home.

‘Dyche crucial to Everton’s survival bid’

I’m not really worried for Everton anymore because of the teams they are battling to avoid relegation. Burnley went to Brentford and were atrocious. Sheffield United can’t seem to win a game. Luton have shown some fight in games like the one at Nottingham Forest and I can see them finding a way out.

However, Bournemouth can’t win a game. They somehow keep dodging the bullet and it seems like no-one talks about them. They haven’t won a football match yet.

Everton will be alright because of the manager. He’s Everton’s lifeline. He’s been there and done it before and when it comes to the crunch, he can get results.

‘Draws could be crucial in battle to beat the drop’

A point here or there in this relegation battle will be important. Wins are normally the order of the day, but it is going to be so tight down there that getting a point or two will be crucial.

I don’t see the teams down the bottom winning too many games. I just can’t see them getting 30, 35 or 40 points this season. There’s absolutely no way.

For example, Luton’s point at Forest on Saturday was huge. Sheffield United do alright and get beaten whereas Luton do alright and get a result. They get a win against Everton and then steal a point at the City Ground.

That could be crucial at the end of the season.