Unai Emery Addresses Injury Updates, Champions League Format, and Juventus Match

Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, addressed reporters ahead of the club’s Champions League fixture against Juventus on Wednesday, scheduled for a 20:00 GMT kick-off. Below are the main points from his press briefing. Regarding player availability, Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara are anticipated to join the squad, while Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey are confirmed to be unavailable for selection. Emery expressed his approval of the updated Champions League format, stating: “A lot of teams have more time to correct mistakes, playing eight matches. Some teams have done well as a surprise in the top positions, some teams have not been consistent at the moment, but usually the better teams are going to be there [qualifying for the next phase].” When prompted for a message to the home fans ahead of Wednesday’s encounter, Emery responded: “Enjoy it. We want to enjoy competing and we want to enjoy winning. We are here in the Champions League trying to be consistent in this competition. Hopefully we can play a lot of years in the Champions League.” Aston Villa has allowed just one goal across four Champions League appearances. However, the team has failed to secure a clean sheet during a six-game winless streak across all competitions. Emery commented on this, saying: “We are working on it. We must be stronger defensively in everything, starting with the ball and trying to dominate matches. But I have confidence because the players have showed the capacity to respond and react quickly.” Addressing Juventus manager Thiago Motta, who previously played under Emery during his tenure at Paris St-Germain, Emery remarked: “He was very competitive, very intelligent, he was a top player, physically and mentally strong. As a coach he has started being successful and his progression has been fantastic.” Emery further stated: “He is in the process of building the team, they are competitive and are playing very good football – of course, not yet with all of the ideas he wants to set there – but like at Bologna, he is doing a good job.”