1996–97 Aston Villa F.C. season
During the 1996–97 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.
Season summary
There was no silverware this season for last season's League Cup winners, but Brian Little's competent Villa side achieved UEFA Cup qualification for the second season running, but this time via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.The autumn of the season saw the departure of veteran defender Paul McGrath to Derby County, while the injured Gary Charles was replaced at right-back by the Portuguese Fernando Nelson. The end of the season saw the arrival of Liverpool striker Stan Collymore for a club record fee of £7 million. Club record signing Sasa Curcic, who had been disappointing after his £4million arrival in the summer of 1996, was then sold to Crystal Palace for £1million.
Long-serving defender Paul McGrath left in the autumn to sign for Derby County after more than seven years at Villa Park. Another Villa defender, Phil King, who had been restricted to just three league appearances in as many years at the club, was transferred to Swindon Town. Striker Tommy Johnson, whose first team chances were becoming increasingly limited, was sold to Celtic. Franz Carr left after just over a year at Villa Park to join Reggiana of Italy. Defender Carl Tiler was sold to Sheffield United for £500,000 after just 18 months at the club, having played just 12 league games due to injury.
Dwight Yorke was Villa's top scorer for the second season running, with 17 goals in the Premier League and 20 in all competitions.
Final league table
;Results summary;Results by matchday
Results
Aston Villa's score comes firstLegend
FA Premier League
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 14 January 1997 | Notts County | A | 0–0 | 13,315 | |
| R3R | 22 January 1997 | Notts County | H | 3–0 | 25,006 | Yorke 24', 53', Ehiogu 67' |
| R4 | 25 January 1997 | Derby County | A | 1–3 | 17,977 | Ćurčić 76' |
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | Leeds United | A | 2–1 | 15,803 | Taylor 70', Yorke pen 77' |
| R4 | 26 November 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 7,573 |
UEFA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 10 September 1996 | Helsingborg | H | 1–1 | 25,818 | Johnson 14' |
| R1 2nd Leg | 24 September 1996 | Helsingborg | A | 0–0 | 10,213 |