Aston Villa were one Premier League club appreciative of the international break after going through a rough patch in form.
Aston Villa were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Crystal Palace, beaten by Club Brugge in the Champions League and have failed to win their previous three Premier League games.
A five-match winless run is the longest Unai Emery has gone in management without but that doesn’t concern the Spaniard.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 9 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
Villa are still only one point behind third-place Chelsea in the top flight, despite sitting in ninth position, while they’re also only three points shy of table-toppers Liverpool in Europe’s elite competition.
Emery’s men will be looking to hit the ground running after the break when they host Palace and Juventus in the space of four days, and the Aston Villa boss has gone to extreme lengths to turn their form around.
- READ MORE: How Aston Villa staff currently feel internally as ‘next Phil Foden’ struggles during loan spell
Unai Emery’s relentless attention to detail in Aston Villa training
Aston Villa saw many of their first-team stars feature for their countries during the international break. It was delight for Morgan Rogers, who made his England debut in the win over Greece.
Meanwhile, captain John McGinn scored twice for Scotland in their two Nations League wins over Croatia and Poland.
Back at Bodymoor Heath, however, the hard work hasn’t stopped for Emery and the players who weren’t called up by their countries.
According to The Athletic, Emery has gone to incredible lengths in training as he eyes a turnaround in form after the break.
The Spanish tactician has worked on ‘refining the finer details in matches’ as a key point of consideration and doubled down on the coaching staff’s due diligence during the break.
“Emery and his coaching staff’s diligence has been doubled down upon over the international break. Sources insist Villa have worked “harder than ever” to overturn their form,” the report read.
“Rectifying the finer details in matches has been among the key points of consideration, especially given Villa’s intense fixture schedule — they will play eight games in 28 days.”
- READ MORE: The real reason Aston Villa are now siding with Man City in pivotal APT vote after £135m twist
Emery’s injury nightmare at Aston Villa
Emery is aware of the risks behind his Aston Villa stars playing for their countries during the international break, and he’s experienced that first-hand.
Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa were all sent home by their nations after experiencing minor problems.
Luckily, footage emerged of Maatsen, Torres and Matty Cash all in Aston Villa training ahead of the home clash against Palace, and that is great news for Emery.
Konsa had a scan after Friday’s win over Greece and should also be okay to feature this weekend, as will Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley, who could both be in line to start.
The only two players who will miss the match are Jacob Ramsey after he suffered an injury against Liverpool and Amadou Onana, who will be out for two to three weeks following a foot injury picked up on Belgium duty.
| Injured Aston Villa players | Expected return date |
| Amadou Onana (foot) | December 1, Chelsea (A) |
| Jacob Ramsey (hamstring) | December 1, Chelsea (A) |
With Villa entering a hectic fixture schedule, Emery will have to hope he rides his luck with injuries, as there’ll inevitably be a few casualties across December.
