A "worrying" results pattern has emerged for Aston Villa, according to journalist Gregg Evans.

Bearing in mind that Villa narrowly escaped relegation on the final day of last season, their second year in the Premier League has been an impressive campaign.

The Villans currently sit 9th in the Premier League and are presently level on points with Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.

However, Dean Smith’s side suffered a 1-0 defeat to a seemingly relegation-bound Sheffield United on Wednesday night, with David McGoldrick netting the only goal.

Following the game, The Athletic’s Villa correspondent Gregg Evans highlighted a “worrying” trend in regard to the Villans’ recent results.

“The patterns are worrying when Villa go behind, but brilliant when they go ahead,” Evans responded to a fan in The Athletic's discussion thread.

“Just about fine-tuning isn’t it and learning from mistakes. A tough watch tonight, though. They were wasteful.”

GIVEMESPORT’s Tom Kelly says…

Overall, it’s been a successful season for Smith’s side. Taking into consideration the dramatic improvement from last year, Villa fans have plenty to shout about.

However, a growing concern at Villa Park is the side’s inability to climb their way back into games and salvage a result.

Smith’s team have recorded just a single point from games when they've gone behind this season, the worst return of any Premier League side. 

In comparison, in the 13 games where Villa have scored the opening goal, they've gone on to win 12 of those fixtures.

Although this season has undoubtedly been an impressive campaign, rectifying this issue should be at the top of Smith’s agenda.

Throughout this season, Villa have stuck with four at the back, either as a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3. 

In situations where the Villans are chasing the game, maybe Smith could opt for three at the back and commit another man forward. This would provide more support for Ollie Watkins and theoretically give Villa a better chance of finding the net. 

Due to their recent success, Villa have been within touching distance of a European spot, providing the FA Cup is won by a top-four team.

By solving this issue between now and the end of the season, it could help Villa make that final leap to help secure a Europa League place.

Clearly though, Smith has some thinking to do about how he can turn the tide of games going forward.