Unai Emery Praises Crystal Palace Ahead of Tough Test for Aston Villa

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has praised Crystal Palace's resilience and tactical astuteness ahead of their Premier League clash.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has spoken about the importance of his team's upcoming match against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night. Emery's side is coming off a crucial 2-1 win over Chelsea at the weekend, which was facilitated by the combination of winter signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio. The victory has helped keep Villa's dreams of a European spot alive, and a win against Palace could potentially see them overtake Chelsea in the standings.

Emery emphasized the significance of securing a spot in Europe and acknowledged that the team's performance against Palace will be a crucial test. “It depends tomorrow on how we are responding,” Emery said. “The league is progressing and the matches are becoming less so we have to recover (the points) that we lost.” Despite the pressure, Emery remains positive about his team's prospects, highlighting their growing strength and tactical astuteness. “But we are positive and we are more or less trying to be strong again, astute tactically and mentally,” he noted.

🗣️ "Each day, each match is a test."

The Boss' full press conference is now on VillaTV 📺

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 24, 2025

Emery also touched on the impact of the transfer window on his team, pointing out that the new signings need time to settle in. “We did business in the transfer window and we need time to recover players,” he explained. “Each day and match is a test.” As Villa prepares to face Crystal Palace, Emery's comments suggest that he is focused on ensuring his team remains strong and adaptable in their pursuit of a European spot.

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has provided an update on the injuries to Tyrone Mings and Morgan Rogers, who have been affected by the team's busy schedule this season. Emery is cautious about rushing his players back into action, especially given the physical and mental demands of their recent match against Chelsea. “We are training this afternoon so let's see,” Emery said. “We only played on Saturday, which was a very big effort physically and mentally, so we have to recover for tomorrow. The difficulty of that going into the next match is always there.”

Pitchside has just dropped from our 2-1 victory over Chelsea 👀

Enjoy 🍿

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 24, 2025

Emery also spoke about the challenges of facing Crystal Palace, praising their resilience and tactical astuteness. “They have recovered very well because they started at the beginning not getting many good results,” Emery noted. “They are getting better. In my last two matches against them, they have performed very well. They are perhaps playing even better away from home at the moment.” Emery acknowledged that Palace will be a tough test for his side, both defensively and offensively. “Tactically it is very difficult to stop them. They are astute and have players coming out on the winning side of duals.”

Emery expressed his respect for Palace's playing style and acknowledged the challenge that lies ahead for his team. “I respect them a lot and the way they play their matches,” Emery said. “Our challenge is to compete with them and it is a really good test. I am excited as I want to see how we respond.” He is eager to see how his team will respond to the challenge and is looking forward to the match.

Emery also highlighted the importance of versatility and praised one player in particular who has made a significant contribution to the team's progress. “Lamare Bogarde, he is helping us,” Emery said. “At the beginning of the season when we needed it, really doing a very great job, always. He did the same on Saturday against Chelsea. Of course, his personality is very important.” Emery acknowledged that his team still needs to work on their defensive solidity, but is confident that they can improve with each match. “We are conceding a lot of goals, we are not being strong defensively like we were in our best moments, and we have to try to use the matches we have, the challenges we have, to try to get it as better as possible in our progress, because in case we are not doing it, it’s going to be very difficult to achieve our objective.”