Aston Villa may have ended their winless run but they must finish the year strongly to maintain their European hopes.
Wednesday's victory over Brentford ended an eight-match wait for a victory to at least keep them in touching distance of the top five.
In a condensed league Villa could easily slip further into mid-table with another poor run and a return to the Champions League already looks beyond them this season.
Naturally the visit of bottom side Southampton on Saturday will be viewed as an opportunity for another three points before Villa travel to RB Leipzig on Tuesday.