1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season

In the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premiership and were starting to look like outside bets for relegation. Ruud Gullit, recently sacked by Chelsea, was linked with the vacancy, but the surprise choice for the job was Wycombe manager John Gregory, a former Villa coach. He influenced a late run of form which saw Villa climb to seventh place, and for the second season running Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.

There were debut appearances for Gareth Barry (365), Simon Grayson (48), Stan Collymore (46), Darren Byfield (7), Richard Walker (6), Matthew Ghent, Paul Crichton and Lee Collins.

Expenditure
£8,330,000

Income
£2,400,000

Balance
£5,930,000

First Team

 * squad number was re-used following a players departure. Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 1997.

Results
Aston Villa's score comes first

UEFA Cup
{{football box collapsible }}
 * date = {{Start date|1997|9|30|df=y}}
 * time = 19:45
 * round = R1 L2
 * team1 = Aston Villa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
 * score = 1-0
 * aet = yes
 * aggregatescore = 1-0
 * team2 = {{flagicon|FRA}} Bordeaux
 * goals1 = Milošević {{goal|111}}}
 * goals2 =
 * stadium = Villa Park
 * location = Birmingham
 * attendance = 33,072
 * referee = Knud Erik Fisker
 * result = W

{{football box collapsible }}
 * date = March 17, 1998
 * time = 19:45
 * round = QF L2
 * team1 = Aston Villa {{flagicon|ENG}}
 * score = 2-1
 * aggregatescore = 2-2*
 * team2 = 🇪🇸 Atlético Madrid
 * goals1 = Taylor ⚽ 72' Collymore ⚽ 74'
 * goals2 = Caminero ⚽ 28'
 * stadium = Villa Park
 * location = Birmingham
 * attendance = 39,163
 * referee = Mario van der Ende
 * result = L