Aston Villa latest: 'Victory over Club Brugge can spark season'

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Unai Emery has explained why he chose to leave Alejandro Garnacho on the bench during the 3-1 win against Coventry City.

Emery explains Garnacho omission against Coventry

Unai Emery has explained why he chose to leave Alejandro Garnacho on the bench during the 3-1 win against Coventry City.

For the second game in a row, Garnacho was left as an unused substitute by the Villa boss as they booked their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Johan Manzambi, Emi Buendia, Alysson and Nicolas Jackson were all introduced, while Garnacho remained on the bench.

Zion Suzuki was also introduced at half-time due to an injury to Marco Bizot.

> “Continue working. Work, work, train, work," Emery said when asked about omitting the Argentina winger.

> “When he can have minutes to play, try and play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now.

> “George [Hemmings] is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. [Ibrahim] Mbaye also responded well.

> “We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have.

> "Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs.”

Carabao Cup fourth round draw confirmed

Aston Villa will travel to Bournemouth in the next round of the Carabao Cup.

The fourth round of the competition takes place the week commencing October 26.

Emery praises response and confidence of Villa vs Coventry

Unai Emery praised the response of his Aston Villa players during their 3-1 win at Coventry City in the Carabao Cup.

Villa will now face Bournemouth in the fourth round thanks to a goals from Tammy Abraham either side of Ross Barkley's header.

His side have scored just one goal and are without a win in the Premier League but Emery was pleased with the comfortability and confidence they displayed at the CBS Arena despite their struggles this season.

> "Very good how the players respond on the field. The plan, they followed it and we got the commitment we needed to recover our way," he told Sky Sports.

> "This competition, our object is for a trophy and it is a way for Europe.

> "We wanted to play comfortable and get confidence. More or less, we did it. The experienced players like Tyrone [Mings] and John [McGinn] responded well."

Ibrahim Mbaye assisted Barkley on his first start for the club, while Matteo Ruggeri was also named in the starting line-up for the first time.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis made his debut and impressed alongside Mings at centre back.

On the performances of the new players, including another appearance off the bench for Johan Manzambi, Emery added:

> "We have some players injured. When all the players are available, we are a very good team.

> "With some injuries, we must try to be intelligent and some players need time to adapt to us and get fit. To compete in our demands, we try to set our demands high.

> "In the league, we are not responding but in Champions League and the cup, we are responding."

Emery also confirmed Marco Bizot went off during at half-time due to an injury and hoped it was not serious.

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The panel discuss Aston Villa's slow start to the season, the Manchester derby and what it means for likes of Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford, the make-up of Man City's midfield under Enzo Maresca and Tottenham Hotspur's continued struggles despite a big money summer.

KMI panel supports penalty decisions at Hull

Both decisions not to award Aston Villa a penalty in their goalless draw at Hull City have been supported by the Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.

Villa had claims for challenges by Hull defender Nobel Mendy on Nicolas Jackson and Matty Cash turned down by referee Michael Oliver, while VAR didn't intervene.

The KMI Panel provides an independent assessment of key decisions in every Premier League match, and it unanimously supported both calls.

The panel ruled that "the contact was deemed below the threshold for a penalty" in both incidents, adding that the contact was "minimal and exaggerated by the attacker" in the challenge on Cash.

Merson: I'd be shocked if Villa went down, they have too many good players

Paul Merson is confident Aston Villa will not be involved in a relegation battle this season despite their poor start to the 2026/27 campaign.

Villa lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday and sit in the bottom three with just one point from their opening four games.

When asked if Villa were in fight for survival this season after losing Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Youri Tielemans, Merson said:

> "No, no. I think they have too many good players, if I'm being honest.

> "I think it was a terrible result against Nottingham Forest. it was worrying.

> "They were dominating but couldn't score a goal. But I'd be shocked if they got relegated. I'd be shocked.

> "They've got too many good players and they've got one of the best managers in the business. They're just having a little bit of a time at the moment.

> "I do think this is a big game this weekend [vs Tottenham], though. It's a huge game. Down at the bottom, if you're down there, you're down there.

> "I don't worry about Tottenham or Villa, but I think it's a big game for both teams because it's a momentum swinger.

> "You win it, then you can kick on after the international break. It's a big football match."

Emery fumes over McAtee tackle on Maatsen: 'It's a red card'

Unai Emery felt James McAtee's tackle on Ian Maatsen that left the full-back injured and resulted in Aston Villa being down to 10-men due to them using all their substitutions was a "key moment" and should have been a red card.

Forest took advantage of the extra-man in the final 10 minutes to snatch a 2-1 win courtesy of Igor Jesus' goal.

McAtee was booked for the challenge on Maatsen but Emery felt VAR should have upgraded to a red card.

Emery said:

> “We played the first half like we planned, we dominate, we didn't concede so much. We didn't score, but we were playing in the way we wanted. The second half, completely different. I don't know why, but we started so poor. They scored and they were creating chances.

> “We corrected it and in that moment maybe we should keep the same way we were, but we couldn't. And the injury of Ian Maatsen was a key moment because the tackle was strong. And we were finishing the last 15 minutes with one player less for one tackle and they were playing with 11. For me, VAR should be there. I think it’s a red card.

> “If I was in the VAR and I was a referee, it was a red card.”

Villa to make late checks on Cash and Manzambi

Aston Villa will assess Matty Cash and Johan Manzambi ahead of Saturday’s clash with Nottingham Forest.

Cash missed the midweek Champions League opener at Club Brugge with a knock while Manzambi picked up a knee injury in pre-season.

Boss Unai Emery was going to see how they fared in training on Friday afternoon before making a decision.

> “It’s difficult, but we will train now this afternoon and we’ll check him (Cash) in case he’s getting better,” he told a press conference.

> “It’s a small injury but he needed some days and today we’re going to test him.

> “Manzambi is progressively getting better, training with us this week and we’ll see how he’s going to train today, to feel today.

> “For tomorrow, I’ll take the decision after the training session.”

Joao Gomes is suspended while Leon Goretzka, Brian Madjo and Amadou Onana miss out as Villa look for their first win and goal of the Premier League season.

Jones Knows: Glasner to haunt Emery again

Sky Sports' betting expert Lewis Jones:

Oliver Glanser's record against Unai Emery is an unusually strong tactical head-to-head that is more than just a cute statistic. Glasner is unbeaten in seven meeting with Emery, winning five and what gives this angle extra robustness is across the last five league meetings Glasner's team are creating 2.47 expected goals per 90.

He knows how to crack Emery's tactical plan as Glasner's teams are extremely comfortable allowing the opponent possession before attacking the spaces created when the opponent overcommits. This Glasner hold over Emery isn't factored enough into the match pricing so the draw no bet on Forest at 5/4 with Sky Bet is a touch generous.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2

Emery: Garnacho will reach his best

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says he has seen enough to believe loan signing Alejandro Garnacho can get back to his best at Villa Park.

The Argentinian joined on loan from Chelsea, following a tough opening season at Stamford Bridge, but has been restricted to just 31 minutes of action across Villa's four games so far this season.

Emery struck an optimistic tone about the 22-year-old ahead of the visit of Nottingham Forest on Saturday, saying:

> "His attitude is positive. That's very important, his attitude. He wants it, and he's giving the commitment we need.

> "Now he needs time. Time, hard work every day and then, he's progressing. Every training session he is showing it.

> "Then it is about showing it in matches. He has not played enough, but progressively I am seeing him better.

> "The most important thing is he is consistent, demanding through the attitude he has, and then I believe he will achieve his best performance progressively."

Emery: Experienced players must help new faces adapt

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:

> "It's very important how the new players are performing in the training sessions and on the field in the different competitions.

> "How we are trying to build a team is my priority. We're working collectively and individually on that.

> "We're trying to build our structure, and comparing with the last three years where we built with different players, the plan is not changing and the players are involved in it.

> "Our experienced players are very important for the new team-mates joining. To adapt to our structure is not easy, they must feel confidence to do it. Those experienced players are really involved in that."

Emery: I'm seeing signs of progress

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:

> "Yes, I am seeing signs of progress. You can't tell everything from a training session but that is to get to our best on the field playing matches.

> "Of course, we are starting to play during the week, three matches in a week now. But this is the process where you are not training so much and you must try to adapt the new players' training.

> "It's necessary to show tomorrow how we are improving as the team."

Emery wary of Glasner challenge

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:

> "Us and Forest know each other so well. We've played a lot of times in the Premier League, and the Europa League.

> "The new coach is trying to set his own structure and idea, and he's performing fantastically.

> "He did brilliantly at Palace and in Germany, and it's always a struggle playing against Glasner.

> "I'm expecting a very difficult game, 90 minutes playing consistently in our game plan, and resilient when we need to be."

Emery: We're trying to get to our best 'immediately'

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery:

> "We are in two sides at the same time - being involved in our process in two ways.

> "One is to compete in each competition, as a priority the Premier League and we've played three matches.

> "To compete is to try to get our performance as soon as possible with the structure, the players we have and the players knowing how we want to play, to perform, knowing each other.

> "At the same time, the second side we have is to build a team with the new players, getting them to adapt, to know each other and understand how we set our standards and being demanding in each moment.

> "With both, it's about trying to get to our best immediately. We haven't achieved this yet, but we're getting better in the Premier League, keeping our team consistent, with one or two changes.

> "Tomorrow, the next step forward hopefully we can show our improvement in the Premier League, with the result too.

> "How we played on Tuesday in the Champions League, the performance and the victory, how we set about our game plan, tomorrow is a new challenge."

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