Emery insist Juventus ‘favourites’ against Aston Villa despite injury crisis | OneFootball

Juventus have travelled to Birmingham with only 14 outfield players but Aston Villa coach Unai Emery insists the Bianconeri are favourite in a Champions League meeting on Wednesday.

Juventus will have just 17 players available, including three goalkeepers, for tomorrow’s Champions League match against Aston Villa.

Despite that, Umery believes the Bianconeri will be the favourite at Villa Park.

“Tomorrow, Juventus are the favourite in front of us,” Emery said at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, “because they have experiences, they have a really good team, and very good players, and they are favourites to be in the top eight.”

Juventus coach, Thiago Motta, played 70 games under Unai Emery as a footballer.

“He is as he was as a player. I was with him two years, he was very, very competitive, he was very, very intelligent,” said Emery.

“He was a top player, skills, physically strong, mentally strong, and now, as a coach, he has started being successful.

“His progression has been fantastic. Juventus now is in the process of building a team, but competitive,” continued the Aston Villa coach.

“I think they are playing very good football, of course, not yet, all the ideas he wants to set there, but last year with Bologna he had a very good year.

“I appreciated him as a person, I appreciated him as a professional when he was a player, and now I appreciate his work as a manager.”

Emery: Juventus ‘are changing something’

epa11736958 Juventus’s head coach Thiago Motta gives instructions during the Italian Serie A soccer match AC Milan vs Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, Italy, 23 November 2024. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

Motta signed a three-year contract at the Allianz Stadium last summer, replacing Massimiliano Allegri.

The Old Lady remain the only unbeaten team in Serie A and have seven points in four Champions League matches.

“They are changing something, but they are very, very strong defensively, not only without the ball, but with the ball,” noted Emery.

“They are building a team, they are trying to keep consistency, dominating matches with the ball and then defensively they are being without the ball strong in their positioning and not conceding a lot.”

Aston Villa haven’t won any of the previous six games in all competitions. The last time they grabbed all three points was on October 22 when they beat Juventus’ domestic rivals Bologna in the Champions League.