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Paul Lambert will be judged on his results at Aston Villa this season so how does he fare after eight games?

Well, Villa are on the same amount of points as this stage last term having taken ten points from their opening set of fixtures.

That’s not a bad return especially as they are sitting comfortably in 12th position and potentially just one win away from moving into the top six.

Equally, though, a defeat against Queens Park Rangers on Monday would draw them closer to the relegation zone with just a three-point cushion protecting them from the bottom three.

What’s interesting is that Villa are performing better game-on-game than last season.

In the eight corresponding fixtures last term the claret and blues only managed to pick up seven points which falls short of their current tally.

Lambert’s men were beaten 2-1 by Stoke City and drew 2-2 at Anfield against Liverpool in the 2013/14 campaign.

This year they won both encounters.

Newcastle also ran out 2-1 winners at Villa Park last term but Villa managed to earn a point from the clash this time around.

The only blip was in the 2-0 defeat against Manchester City - a game Villa won 3-2 on home soil in the early stages of last season.

Look: Benteke is back

When the fixtures were announced back in June it was feared that a place in the bottom three would be likely at this stage given the gruelling run of tough games.

That they are out of the relegation zone is a plus point and it goes some way to backing up Lambert’s thoughts that Villa are now a much improved outfit.

Often managers will break the season up and set targets for eight or nine-game periods. If Villa win on Monday it will be a better-than-expected first quarter.

With Ron Vlaar and Christian Benteke now back in the team, results should improve.

Lambert has had to play seven games without a recognised No.9 but he will soon be able to build Villa’s game around Benteke when his match sharpness returns.

If Philippe Senderos can shake off a thigh injury to return and partner Vlaar, Villa will also have their solid rearguard back in place.

So while it may be a tough period to retain hope and belief following four defeats on the bounce, there are positive signs.

League positions and point hauls will be much more telling after another eight games but even then all will not be won or lost.

The sooner Villa get back to winning ways, though, the better.