Emery urges Villa to make most of reduced home comfort / Photo: JOHN THYS - AFP
Emery urges Villa to make most of reduced home comfort
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery wants his side to get back to winning ways on home turf when they face Fenerbahce in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Birmingham club's form at Villa Park has been one of the key factors in Villa's rise up the Premier League table, with the 1982 European champions now competing again in the continent's top club competition for the second time in three years.
But Villa have yet to win at home this season, with two defeats and a draw from three games.
One factor in the slump may be the fact that they are playing in front of a reduced crowd at Villa Park, with the North Stand out of action while it is refurbished for Euro 2028 and the ground as a whole something of a building site.
But Emery believes the game against Turkish club Fenerbahce offers an opportunity for a reset.
"We are realistic about how we are working and improving things," Emery told a press conference on Tuesday.
"But it is not enough yet, so we are having lots of conversations with the team, in meetings and with videos, practising too to show improvements in matches.
“At Villa Park, we have not won yet, so it is very important how we can improve things to be closer to winning. Tomorrow is a very good opportunity to do one step forward in those improvements and the players as well to get confidence and feel comfortable."
The Spaniard added: "Villa Park is for us something very, very special. It should be like the four years that we are here –- how we achieved this as a special place, our fortress. Tomorrow is a new challenge to show it."
Villa's start to the season has been hampered by injuries and they have suffered another blow in the build-up to the second round of Champions League fixtures, with Italian defender Matteo Ruggeri set to be sidelined for a month because of a hamstring problem after coming at half-time during last weekend's 2-2 draw with Brentford.
"Ruggeri, we don't know exactly how long it's going to be, but it will be some weeks that he’s going to be out, more than one month," said Emery.
"We need to find solutions because (Ian) Maatsen is not yet available."
(D.Khanyile--TPT)
