Aston Villa Coach: Juventus Are Strong Defensively, and Their Coach is Very Smart

Aston Villa has not won in its last six matches, but coach Unai Emery refused to blame the congested fixture schedule ahead of their Champions League clash with Juventus tomorrow, Wednesday.

Recently, Aston Villa was eliminated from the EFL Cup, dropped to eighth place in the Premier League, and also is in the middle of the group stage of the Champions League.

According to Reuters, Aston Villa will play nine more matches until the end of the year, the first of which is against Juventus, who are undefeated in Serie A and are two points ahead of them in the Champions League, with the top eight teams qualifying directly for the Round of 16.

Emery told reporters on Tuesday: “Last year we gained experience by participating in the Conference League, and we managed the situation with difficulty. We want to play a lot of matches, and I hope we play until the last month of the season.”

The Aston Villa coach added: “The Champions League is the best competition in the world. We treat every match seriously, and we are consistent in our preparations, as well as in our idea of building the team.”

He continued: “Tomorrow, three points are very important, but even if we don’t win, getting one point is good because we’ll be in the top eight positions in the standings. We want to qualify for the next round, and tomorrow if we win, we’ll be favorites to advance.”

Juventus has the best defensive record in Serie A, and Emery praised the team’s performance under coach Thiago Motta.

Emery said: “He was very competitive (as a player), very smart. He was a standout player. Physically strong and mentally strong, and now he’s had a successful start as a coach. I respect him personally. I respected him as a player, and now as a coach.”

He added: “Juventus is a very strong team defensively, not just when they have the ball but also when they lose it… They are building a team and trying to maintain their level and dominate games through possession, but defensively they try to position themselves well.”