Unai Emery Discusses Aston Villa Injuries, Team Form, and Pursuit of Crucial Points

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery addressed the press ahead of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace, scheduled for 15:00 GMT at Villa Park. The following are the main points from his briefing: Ezri Konsa, Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, and Jacob Ramsey will not participate in Saturday’s game. Emery stated, “Overall, when I’m looking around [at] other teams, they have injured players as well, even maybe Crystal Palace. We are in the same routine. We are playing with some players, more or less, after they are injured. Some players are doubtful and some are out.” Matty Cash and Ross Barkley are once again available for selection for Villa. The manager commented, “We are adding other players after small injuries, like Cash and Barkley, into the squad for tomorrow. We are going to try and feel confident with the players we have in the squad, and are working with every player to be ready when the opportunity to play comes.” Emery expressed his view that the Premier League’s competitiveness has intensified. He remarked, “Every match is very difficult. We analyse the table and there are a lot of teams within a few points. How we finish the match tomorrow can maybe change a lot of things in the position that we are in now.” Following a run of five matches across all competitions without a victory, Emery is eager for his team to recover their form. He said, “We’re playing at Villa Park with our supporters. We’re motivated and I’m looking forward to watching our response.” The Spanish coach maintained a composed outlook regarding Villa’s seasonal prospects. He stated, “We have 38 matches in the Premier League. Sometimes we can have good results, sometimes not, but we have to accept it. This is the reason we try to keep calm, try to rest the players after their matches with the national team. We are focusing on the match because it’s a very, very important three points.” Notwithstanding the team’s recent performance, Emery expressed confidence that their current efforts will prove beneficial. He commented, “We will try to dominate and impose our game plan with our tactical idea and the duels against the players they have. The Premier League is very difficult and we can remind ourselves of the matches we played last year against teams more or less in the bottom of the table, like when we drew against Sheffield [United] in the last minute and came back against Burnley in the last minute. We know how to feel comfortable and strong, playing with our idea and imposing and dominating the match.”