Aston Villa face Newcastle United on Saturday in a game where the Magpies, despite Eddie Howe's absence, are in outstanding form and have forced their way to the front of the Champions League fight
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says Newcastle are in their “best moment” ahead of their crunch Premier League clash at Villa Park on Saturday.
Villa go into the contest after being knocked out of the Champions League but almost staged an unlikely quarter-final comeback against Paris St Germain, winning 3-2 on the night but missing out on aggregate. Saturday’s encounter with Newcastle will go a long way in saying who will dine at Europe’s top table next season, with the Magpies sitting in third with Villa four places below.
Newcastle will again be without manager Eddie Howe in the dugout as he recovers from pneumonia, but go into the game off the back of six successive wins including their Carabao Cup triumph. Emery knows the importance of the weekend’s game.
He said: “The first step tomorrow. The first three points we will face against favourites to be in the top five, because they are now really performing very well, they are winning a lot of matches in a row, getting a lot of points.
“They are now in their best moment. They are performing very well, they are winning matches, they are feeling confident, they are feeling strong. They have five points more than us. It means a lot, how we are, how they are, how important is the match tomorrow.
“Still 18 points to play (for) in (the) Premier League, and they have five points in advantage.”
Villa are in the middle of a congested period where they play three games in the space of a week, with a trip to Manchester City awaiting them on Tuesday. Saturday’s hosts endured a tiring evening in midweek but Emery will be boosted with the fact there are no new injury concerns ahead of the meeting.
He added: “The most important for me now, is how they are, the players. We are going to train this afternoon. We are going to try to test the players, how they are for tomorrow. At the beginning every player is available for tomorrow.
“Only if someone can feel something or tired more than normal but tomorrow’s match is our objective, and the level they (Newcastle) have is similar level as PSG’s team.”