Emery marks four years at Villa with Manchester City visit

Unai Emery says his biggest ambition is to make Champions League football a regular part of life at Aston Villa, as he prepares to mark four years in charge with a home game against the Premier League leaders, Manchester City, on Saturday.

The Spaniard took over at Villa Park in October 2022 with the club near the bottom of the table. He has since taken them into Europe and twice finished in the top four, and Villa have won all three of their Champions League group games this season.

"Playing in Europe is very special"

"The future is to keep this consistency. Playing in Europe for me is very special," Emery said. "I have played 17 years in a row in Europe when I've coached teams. This makes me so proud and makes me want to challenge even more. Then to play in the Premier League, this is the most difficult in the world."

He said the run of fixtures summed up the size of the task. "We spoke to the players on Thursday and this is 'wow'. We're in the Champions League on Wednesday, now it's Manchester City. How we can have higher challenges than this is very difficult."

"I had a conversation with Pep Guardiola two years ago and he told me how challenging this league is. To play in Europe is something that can give you prestige as a club. You can transmit a lot of things by playing in other countries."

"Champions League is our priority"

Emery has been linked in speculation with the Manchester United job, but made clear his focus was on building at Villa. "Going forward, improving, getting better, and Champions League is our priority, but to play there every season is very difficult," he said. "We have got top four twice, and the players must be on the same page to work for the objectives."

He has also said the club is not frustrated by the financial rules that limit how much it can spend, despite the challenges they create for a club trying to compete with the biggest spenders.

City arrive top of the table

Manchester City arrive at Villa Park top of the Premier League. Last month they were found guilty of 114 charges relating to breaches of the league's financial rules.

Villa go into the game on the back of Wednesday's 3-1 win over Viking in the Champions League, achieved without a fit recognised full-back in the starting line-up. Ian Maatsen and Matty Cash were on the bench that night, and Emery will decide whether either is ready to start, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Matteo Ruggeri remain out.

Before Wednesday's win, Villa had kept their second Premier League clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 victory at Newcastle, where Tyrone Mings ended the game as an emergency left-back.

Villa's next game in the Champions League is away at Barcelona, while in the league they will be hoping to close the gap on the top four. City, managed by Pep Guardiola, have dominated the Premier League in recent years, and a win for Villa would be one of the results of the weekend.