Aston Villa face Manchester City this evening in what will be a blockbuster in the Premier League, seeing Pep Guardiola speak very highly of one Villan ahead of the fixture.
Following Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday, the Villans return to action tonight against Manchester City.
As Unai Emery prepares to see his side go head-to-head with the treble winners at the Etihad Stadium, the City boss has had a few words to say about one Villa star ahead of the battle.
It’s set to be a high-quality between the two sides who are both in need of a win, with City eying revenge on the Midlands club who recorded a 1-0 victory in the last meeting.
Pep Guardiola hails Unai Emery ahead of Aston Villa v Manchester City
Speaking to the media ahead of the meeting between the two clubs, Guardiola was full of praise for Emery’s work as the manager at Villa Park.
As relayed by BirminghamLive, Guardiola said:
“It’s excellent, the way they play. Unai Emery has consistency every season. They’ve been impressive. It’s no surprise, the quality of him, his management and the team,”
“I haven’t watched all their games but I think they’ll play with the same system and ideas. They’re good on set-pieces and in transition, with two quick players up front. They have a strong backline and an exceptional goalkeeper. That’s why they are where they are.”
The Spaniard was quick to recognise the success that his countryman has found at Villa Park, with tonight’s fixture poised to be an exciting contest between the clubs in third and fourth place.
What is Unai Emery’s managerial record against Pep Guardiola?
There will be a lot of mutual respect between the two managers who have consistently orchestrated strong squads to achieve silverware in their careers.
That being said, Emery will hope to better his record against the infamous former Barcelona manager, whom he has faced 14 times as a manager both in Spain and in England.
From the 14 fixtures between the two, Emery has come out on top just once, with his only win coming in December when the Villans emerged as 1-0 winners over City at Villa Park.
The Villa boss, who earns £115k-a-week in the Midlands, recorded two losses to Guardiola when he was at the helm at Arsenal, and from the 10 games that the two met in Spain, he lost six when Valencia met Barcelona.
Emery will certainly hope to build on his record against the City manager this evening, with December’s win firmly in his mind.
