[4] Lambert was handed a one-match touchline ban on 21 November 2012 for comments relating to a penalty decision in Villa's defeat to Manchester City.

[7] This was followed by consecutive home defeats, with Villa losing 4–0 to Tottenham Hotspur and 3–0 to Wigan Athletic, leading to increased pressure on Lambert's position.

Lambert did however manage to get Villa to record back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2011, as they defeated fellow relegation rivals Reading and Queens Park Rangers.

[13] Villa finished 15th with the youngest starting eleven in the Premier League, leading to praise from pundit Alan Hansen, who said that Lambert was "a contender for "Manager of the Season.

El Ahmadi stated before his arrival that joining the club, and playing in the Premier League, would be a "dream come true" and that he was looking forward to "dictating games" for Villa.

Vlaar immediately declared his ambition to become a Villa great and aimed to become a club legend in central defence, just as Paul McGrath and Martin Laursen had done so previously.

Barry Bannan's free kick, which levelled the scores at 1–1, was not enough for the Villa after two goals from Lewis McGugan and a killer third from Marcus Tudgay sealed victory for the Championship side.

[41][42] The Premier League fixture list was announced on 18 June 2012 and it gave Villa an away tie against newly promoted West Ham United to open the new season.

[49][50] On 24 August, the club were dealt a massive blow when promising young midfielder Gary Gardner was ruled out for the entire season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee.

[58][59] The following day, Villa signed England under-21 left back Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough on a four-year deal, for a fee rumoured to be between £2.5 and 4 million.

[65][66] Earlier in the day, a £7 million bid was also accepted by Fulham for American forward Clint Dempsey, but the player ultimately rejected the deal as he favoured a move to Liverpool.

Ciaran Clark's first half goal was cancelled out by a wonder strike from Hatem Ben Arfa and Villa's performance was reported to be much improved after the Everton game.

[77][78] Villa didn't let this result affect their next performance however, as they recorded a shock 2–4 victory against champions Manchester City in the League Cup on 25 September.

[79][80] Villa's reward for defeating City was a potentially tricky away tie to League One side Swindon Town, managed by former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio, to be played on 30 October.

The match finished 2–0 to Spurs, with goals from Steven Caulker and Aaron Lennon condemning Villa to their fourth loss and continued their poor start to the season.

Villa continued their worst start to a season in 26 years by losing their fifth game, as a late Chris Baird goal gave Fulham a 1–0 win.

[102][103] The spirited performance the players showed in the last game (despite the loss) was soon forgotten as Villa were taught a lesson in their next match against the champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

City thrashed Villa 5–0 with braces each for Sergio Agüero and Carlos Tevez, which included a highly controversial penalty and a goal from David Silva.

[123][124][125] Villa's unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt in the last game before Christmas as the team went down 8–0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, their heaviest ever defeat in the Premier League.

Wayne Routledge gave the Swans an early lead, before an Andreas Weimann strike on the stroke of half-time brought Villa level.

Darren Bent equalized immediately after the break with a goal against his former club and Andreas Weimann booked Villa's place in the fourth round with an 83rd-minute winner.

Bradford took the lead early in the first half as Nahki Wells beat the offside trap to finish neatly past Shay Given after a deflected shot.

Matt Duke made a series of inspired saves throughout both halves keeping Villa at bay, before Rory McArdle put Bradford 2–0 up in the 77th minute.

Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Villa a half time lead but Chris Brunt pulled a goal back immediately after the break for the Baggies.

Just as a replay looked on the cards, John Marquis grabbed the winner for the Championship outfit, to send them through and pile even more pressure onto the extremely fragile Villa team and manager Paul Lambert.

A lackluster first half saw few chances for either side, with the only one of note seeing Andreas Weimann shoot wide from six yards after Jussi Jääskeläinen had spilled a Christian Benteke shot.

An Ashley Westwood own goal made for a nervy last few minutes but Villa held on for a precious three points, to move out of the relegation zone.

[162][163] Despite the brilliant win against West Ham, Villa lost their last game of the month against Arsenal 2–1 after a late winner from Santi Cazorla, leaving them in 18th place at the end of February.

Christian Benteke then skipped through the Stoke defence and slid the ball into the back of the net to wrap up the points for Villa, as well as the third win in their last four games.

[212] Villa will become Macron's flagship club in the United Kingdom, and the deal will see the latter producing a full fashion range alongside kit commitments for the managerial and playing staff.