soccer

Emery on striker options, Villa Park atmosphere and recovering form

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Villa Park (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

  • Emery was asked about the dilemma of picking between experienced Ollie Watkins or the in-form Tammy Abraham: "Ollie has always had a competitive striker - Danny Ings, Jhon Duran, [Marcus] Rashford and [Donyell] Malen. We need both strikers and we need both playing their best in our structure. Scoring goals is not only their responsibility, it is the team's and my responsibility."
  • A 'singing section' will be in place at Villa Park and Emery was asked about the importance of fan atmosphere: "We have to transmit our energy with our attitude and skills, it starts with us. We need our supporters, especially at Villa Park. Tomorrow [the singing] is not 'Super John McGinn', it's 'Super Aston Villa'."
  • On the absence of his captain: "We need another leader. He is, of course, very important but he is not available tomorrow. His progress is getting better. We have enough players to keep our consistency and we feel comfortable with the players we have. I believe in them."
  • When asked how he can recover the players' confidence after a dip in form: "We will recover the confidence. It starts with our demands, being very demanding in our gameplan and each [player] trying their best. Attitude as well - our attitude will be fantastic and I expect it from our players. We then try to identify their strengths, weaknesses and exploit them."
  • Emery says Wednesday's opponents are a "fantastic test", adding: "It is a tough match. At Villa Park, we are feeling really comfortable and showing consistency, except in the last match we played. We want to recover our good form at home. I think they are very good"

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[BBC]

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