Exclusive: Former Aston Villa Star ‘Expects’ Success in the UEFA Champions League This Season | OneFootball

Aston Villa’s Journey Under Unai Emery; Champions League the Next Destination

Aston Villa’s rise under the guidance of head coach Unai Emery has been nothing short of absolutely spectacular, epitomised by the return to Champions League football as they beat Young Boys 3-0 in their first game back in the competition for 41 years. Perhaps the most crucial part of this growth over recent years, is the ability for Villa fans to dream once again and under Emery, who could bet against them?

Well, the Villains have already started the 2024-25 campaign pretty strongly, currently sitting in fifth place in the Premier League. Emery’s men will undoubtedly be looking to return to the Champions League by the end of the season, but they’ll also looking to cause some major upsets in the competition this season, too.

I spoke exclusively to former Aston Villa and Manchester City defender Richard Dunne about the confidence in the side going into this Champions League campaign, as they prepare to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

Photo: IMAGO

Villa’s Return to Europe’s Elite

“It’s great!” claimed Dunne when asked about the club’s return to the Champions League and he even was quite positive about the new format in place. “Eight games is brilliant,” claimed Dunne, despite many people’s concerns over too many games for the game’s elite players.

Just a couple of years ago, Aston Villa were fighting against relegation under the guidance of Steven Gerrard and now they find themselves about to face up against one of Europe’s colossal giants in Bayern Munich. The former Villa defender though was keen to point out that this isn’t just a fun European tour for his former side, stating: “If they can get something from Bayern Munich, then there’s no reason why they can’t do really well.”

Of course, the Bayern Munich clash will be a great test as they face up against the likes of Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich but with the help from the Villa Park faithful, only a fool would rule them out!

Photo: IMAGO

Expectations Remain

Further enforcing that statement, Dunne provided his Champions League predictions for Villa, claiming: “I expect them to get into the knockout stages, for sure. Getting into the top eight might be a bit tricky, but they should definitely get past the league phase.”

I think it’s fair to say that this will be sentiment commonly shared amongst Aston Villa supporters and that dominant display against Young Boys would’ve given plenty of confidence to the squad.

It’ll be absolutely fascinating to see how Aston Villa fare against Bayern Munich, but they’re certainly in safe hands under the guidance of Emery. His tactical excellence along with the quality of Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Amadou Onana and many more, will prove to be tricky opposition for the Bavarian giants.