Emery eyes first Villa Park win in Champions League

Unai Emery has called Wednesday's Champions League home tie against Fenerbahçe a "very difficult match" and a key opportunity to register Aston Villa's first victory at Villa Park this season.

Villa head into Matchday Two on the back of a 3-2 win at Club Brugge, their only Champions League result so far. Emery acknowledged the side is still working through a difficult patch, with the club sitting 16th in the Premier League after six matches.

"In Villa Park, we didn't win yet, so it's very important how we can improve things, to be closer to winning, and tomorrow is a very good opportunity to try to do one step forward in those improvements," Emery said.

The Spaniard struck a respectful tone toward the visitors, citing their squad depth as a major concern. "Individual players, I can speak about Asensio, I can speak about Guendouzi, I can speak about Greenwood – they are fantastic players," he said, adding that Ederson and Nathan Aké also posed threats.

Emery noted Fenerbahçe drew with Roma in their opening group game and beat Olympique Lyonnais in qualifying, describing them as "a team with a lot of experience through the club, through the players."

On Villa's attacking options, the manager highlighted the need to build around his current strikers, mentioning Tammy Abraham, Brian Madjo, Ibrahim Mbaye, Alejandro Garnacho and Alysson as players whose pace and movement must be better integrated.

The tie will be the first Champions League fixture at Villa Park since April 2025. Emery referenced the club's 1982 European Cup triumph and their previous Champions League campaign as benchmarks for the current group, saying the objective this season remains the same: to reach the top eight.

"We must win more or less five or six season matches out of eight, and we won the first one against Brugge, and tomorrow is a new test," he said.