Villa Park Advantage Key to PSG Tie, Says Emery

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery believes home advantage can be crucial in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against PSG.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery emphasized the importance of utilizing home advantage in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris St Germain at Villa Park. Despite losing the first leg 3-1, Emery believes that Villa can draw energy from their supporters to turn the tide.

Emery acknowledged PSG's experience in away matches, but he is confident that Villa's home advantage can be a decisive factor. “PSG have a lot of experience playing in away matches. They are playing in France and Europe and we have experience as well,” Emery said. “But we will be connecting with our supporters and transmitting the energy... if we do, tactically and individually, good things on the field, the supporters are going to up our energy and help us a lot.”

Emery added that the supporters' energy will be crucial in driving Villa's performance. “They are going to transmit that energy always for our players.” He hopes that Villa can harness this energy to deliver a strong performance and potentially overturn the deficit.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery emphasized that the team will stick to their game plan in the second leg against Paris St Germain. “Our expectation is to get a good result in the second leg,” Emery said. “Of course, the fact that they won 3-1 is changing something. But a lot? No. Why? Because we have to win.”

 

🗣️ "Playing at home, with the energy they can receive from the supporters, is something adding positivity." pic.twitter.com/K2jTsThrad

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 14, 2025

Emery explained that the target remains the same, despite the scoreline. “We had to win with 2-1 and with 3-1 now. But now, we have to win with one more goal... We played how we wanted to in Paris, but the result obviously wasn't what we hoped for. If we are winning, we can be close.”

Emery outlined his approach for the second leg, stating, “Our objective is to play with one strong plan in our tactical way tomorrow and try to be consistent and try to understand how the match is going in 90 minutes.” He expressed confidence in striker Ollie Watkins, who has been dealing with a knee issue, citing Watkins' goal off the bench in the 3-0 win at Southampton. “He's in good shape,” Emery noted.

“He showed us he is feeling fantastic. He is scoring goals. He played 30 minutes performing really well (against Southampton),” Emery added.

“This is the variety we have with our players. We have to try to use their quality to help the team - be it 30 minutes, 10 minutes or five minutes. That is the mentality we need tomorrow.”