Fixtures
- Ajax Vs. Aston Villa – Thu, Mar 7th 2024, 18:45
Leon Bailey is excited by the prospect of Aston Villa’s eagerly-anticipated encounter against Ajax on Thursday night.
Villa arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday for the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 tie at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
It promises to be a memorable night in the Dutch capital as two European Cup winners go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
It is only the second meeting between Villa and Ajax, and in-form winger Bailey cannot wait.
“Tomorrow should be a really exciting game and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“Hopefully I can continue helping the team as much as I can and score goals or assists.”
He added: “It’s a big game, the lads are really looking forward to it.
“We all know Ajax is a big club, big history, nice stadium.
“We’re really looking forward to coming out here and showing up as best as possible.”
Bailey is in the midst of a blistering season for Villa having recorded 11 goals and 11 assists in all competitions so far this term.
The winger, who spent time at Ajax early in his career before he was a professional, admits he is currently enjoying “the best moment of my career”.
Speaking at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, he also revealed Villa boss Unai Emery is “one of the best coaches I’ve worked under”.
And Bailey also stressed how crucial the Conference League is to the club.
“It is very important for us,” he added.
“For a lot of the players, this is the first time playing in Europe, that’s also very exciting for them.
“The club hasn’t played in Europe for a very long time, this is a moment where we can really start to bring the club back to where we know it can be.
“It would be massive for us to really compete and hopefully make it to the final.
“It would be a dream for everybody, a massive accomplishment. That’s the aim, that’s the focus; and that’s what we’re going to try and do step by step.
“Hopefully do that this year and then focus on next year.”
