Fixtures
- Chelsea Vs. Aston Villa – Sun, Dec 1st 2024, 13:30
Unai Emery met with the media at Bodymoor Heath on Friday afternoon, to look ahead to Aston Villa’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday (ko 1.30pm).
The Villans visit West London looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League, and Emery previewed the encounter, speaking with members of the local and national media…
On focus…
“Keep going. We are focusing on how we can improve. How we can analyse our way we were doing two years ago even, but of course trying to get our best form through the players – individually and collectively.
“I am happy [with] how we are doing this season. Our demands increase progressively and we are being very demanding in every position we are facing, but we have to try to keep balance.
“Now, we are going to face Chelsea. Of course, difficult, of course, those three points will be very important, how we can set again our position in the table.
“The most important [thing] is to try to build our team, to feel comfortable and strong and try to correct some mistakes we are doing. But the players and the team and our idea is being in good balance.”
On Enzo Maresca and Chelsea…
“Very well. He did a fantastic job last year at Leicester and the opportunity he has now, he has been very good as well.
“Of course, Chelsea is Chelsea, with the players they have and the club it is. The coaches and the manager at the beginning have done very well in different competitions.
“They are in the table, progressively getting better. They have three points in advantage of us. We started better than them, but now, Sunday is a very important match, how we can be closer to them.”
On recent history at Stamford Bridge…
“We are Aston Villa, and we are in our process. We are more or less getting our high demands, but to be consistent is our next challenge.
“We won two times, we drew as well in the FA Cup [at Chelsea], now it is a different match, some different players, different coach for them, different moment for them, they are feeling comfortable and consistency, progressively getting better.
“The challenge is this Sunday, and the challenge is where we are now in the table.
“The thing we have in our mind is trying to face one team, a contender more than us to be in the top seven.
“We want to face them. We want to fight as well to be competing with the teams who are contenders to be in the top seven. At the moment we are, we were better one month ago, but still the possibility is to be there.”
On midfield options…
“We are going to train tomorrow. We are resting today.
“[Boubacar] Kamara is getting better. He had a small injury, he was not available one match before, but after he played on Wednesday – he played feeling comfortable – I decided to reduce the last 20 minutes. Maybe because he needs minutes, but he needs as well, care with the minutes he is playing.
“We played on Wednesday, we play on Sunday, four days’ difference between one match and another.
“If everything is going well, if he comes in tomorrow well, my idea is to try and use the better players on Sunday as well, and one of them is Kamara, of course.
“The midfield we have now, with Kamara, with [Amadou] Onana, with [Ross] Barkley, with [Youri] Tielemans, I am happy, really happy.
“Of course, I want the players competing as well [with] each other, to try and help us in every position we have, but in the middle, we are now, with the players we can have, happy.”
On returning from Champions League action…
“We are not thinking about it. We are trying to focus [on] the match, prepare [for] the match with the players available and ready to play.
“We are getting experiences. Last year and this year, playing in Europe and playing in the Premier League and playing a lot of matches during the week.
“We have to try to use our experiences, everybody, to try to get better. In decisions, how we can rest better, how we can train better, how we can focus better [on] the next match.
“After Wednesday, we are resting today, and we worked yesterday, and I think we have to be ready, and we have to be 100% as well in everything to play on Sunday.”
