adminUnai Emery has made his position clear regarding Aston Villa’s upcoming Premier League clash with Tottenham, as the north London side travel to Villa Park knowing they desperately need a win.
According to Opta’s Supercomputer, Spurs are strong favorites to join Burnley and Wolves in being relegated to the Championship next summer. While some pundits have written off Tottenham’s chances of survival, their manager still believes they can stage a remarkable escape.
Roberto De Zerbi has urged the Tottenham players to give everything on the pitch, expressing confidence that his squad has the quality to stay up.
Emery says Villa are fully focused on beating Spurs
With Villa currently involved in a Europa League semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest, some Tottenham fans may have hoped their opponents would be distracted on Sunday. But Unai Emery has made it clear that he and his team are highly motivated to take all three points, stressing that the match against Spurs is their sole focus for now.
Speaking to The Birmingham Mail, Emery said: “We are now focusing on the match on Sunday against Tottenham. Everything that happened yesterday is now done – that was the first part of the two legs. We are analysing, but we will take a break from that and focus on the second leg at home against Nottingham.
“That match will be very important, but now we have to focus on the league. What happened yesterday with the referees and VAR – I spoke about that in the press conference. I consider it done.”
He added: “Every match is very, very important in the Premier League. We are on matchday 35. We are completely prioritising this game. Of course, the priority yesterday was Forest in the Europa League, but the league is the priority – to be consistent and demanding there, and to achieve our huge challenge this year: to qualify for the Champions League again.”
Emery says Villa still need league points
Villa are currently eight points clear of sixth-placed Brighton and on track for Champions League qualification. Tottenham fans may have hoped Emery would rotate his squad ahead of the second leg against Forest, but the Villa boss insists his side still have work to do.
When asked whether Villa need more points to secure a top-five finish, Emery replied: “It depends! When we won in the last minute against Sunderland two weeks ago, I was positive. Last week against Fulham, I wasn’t so positive about everything we are doing and the points we need to finish third, fourth, or fifth.
“There are teams behind us performing well, like Brighton or still Chelsea, with their potential and ability to win many matches at the end of the season. We need to focus on our own games and try to pick up points. The first of those is against Tottenham on Sunday.
“I am positive and delighted with where we are now – in a semi-final and in this league position. It’s really fantastic, given the consistency we’ve shown. The final challenges are still ahead of us.”
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