Aston Villa are firmly in the hunt for Champions League qualification again as they aim to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Unai Emery’s side have impressed this season, combining solid defensive performances with attacking flair, and will look to maintain their momentum in the crucial months ahead.
Unai Emery’s side have impressed this season, combining solid defensive performances with attacking flair, and will look to maintain their momentum in the crucial months ahead.
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00:00The sort of remainder of the season, you know, we can sort of look back as we are in the
00:06midway point now and I mean, their season could go a number of ways if you look at it.
00:11They had a fantastic start to their Champions League life with this obviously new developed
00:16format and, you know, they were obviously top of the pile in the Champions League for
00:20a few weeks, which is quite incredible for them. How do you sort of look back at the
00:24start of their season so far and the best moments, maybe worst moments as well, a standout
00:31player maybe, and then sort of what they can go on to achieve as we look, you know, the
00:36remainder of this campaign?
00:39I think on the whole, the fans should be very happy with what they've seen this season
00:42because it's been a very bizarre Premier League campaign really. We've seen Manchester
00:46City, who've looked unbeatable over the last four seasons, crumble and fall out of the
00:50top four for a long period of time. Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur in the bottom half,
00:55Newcastle struggling and then having a mad revival. Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Bournemouth
01:00all heading up into potential Champions League contention. Forest being the main one of those,
01:05really challenging with Arsenal and Liverpool running away with things. Villa being in the
01:09top eight after such a run in mid-January and then having the potential still of finishing
01:14in the top five, which should be enough for Champions League football this year. You can't
01:18really be complaining with that, can you? And as you alluded to, Champions League success
01:22already on the cards. On the fringes of the top eight, which is what you need out of the
01:2636 clubs to qualify immediately for the last 16. If they finish between ninth and 24th,
01:33they'll have to play an extra playoff round, which wouldn't be ideal. Two extra matches,
01:37it'll be two legs. Villa are trying to avoid that. Two tough games to go against Monaco
01:42and then at home against Celtic, but four points from those matches should be enough
01:46to qualify for the last eight. And you'd have to say that would be a huge success,
01:50especially as they beat Bayern Munich earlier in the campaign. In terms of Emery,
01:54there's ambitions. Well, he wants to carry on in the Champions League with Villa,
01:57if possible. That's the main priority. Winning the Champions League is very unlikely. That's
02:02one way of achieving that. So the focus is still on the Premier League. Villa obviously want to
02:07progress as far as possible in the Champions League. And it'd be amazing to get to the
02:11quarterfinals, semifinals, but realistically, they're not going to win the competition.
02:15So the focus at the moment remains on the Premier League, which is understandable.
02:20Yeah, and just looking at the standout players up to this point,
02:23you know, they have a big summer clear out. They brought a few big names in as well.
02:27And who's been the standout player? Because obviously John Duran went on that fantastic run.
02:32Ollie Watkins maybe hasn't hit the heights that he did, but had that incredible summer with England
02:37with that moment as well. I think Uri Telemans is one that's kind of gone under the radar a bit.
02:42He's played so, so well in a variety of midfield roles. But Morgan Rodgers has really kicked on,
02:47just £15 million after add-ons from Middlesbrough. Looks well worth the money, of course,
02:52a full England international already. So versatile, so aggressive and attacks and
02:57such a key player for Unai Emery's Villa.