Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is full of respect for Nottingham Forest and Vitor Pereira
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery(Image: PA Wire)
Unai Emery claims Nottingham Forest have not earned as many Premier League points as their performances deserve.
The Reds host Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon at the City Ground, aiming to secure their first home league win since mid-December, when they defeated Tottenham 3-0.
Both sides were in Europa League action on Thursday night. Forest picked up a draw in Porto, while Villa won 3-1 against Bologna in Italy.
Speaking ahead of the trip to the East Midlands, Emery expressed strong respect for Vitor Pereira’s side.
“They are a team performing consistently in the years they are in the Premier League, and with the same players,” Emery claimed in his pre-match press conference.
“But the Premier League is very, very difficult, and of course, for different circumstances, they are not getting the points they deserve, but they are the same team, and the same players, and only they are changing coaches for different circumstances.
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“I respect a lot, Pereira, because he’s a very good coach, and he has a lot of experiences, and I think they are playing, competing very well.
“They beat Tottenham the last time away, and they are competing in Europe, fantastic. They drew yesterday against Porto.
“I think there are a lot of things (that) make us be respectful for the match on Sunday, and of course in Premier League, to win each match is very difficult.
“We have our own examples, losing against Wolves, three weeks ago or four weeks ago, because you must play each match 100% focus, work a lot on the details, individually, tactically, try to get your best, and if you are clinical, you can win, but if not, you can lose.
“And this is Premier League, and this is something, give us a lot, as a professional, information about how it’s progressing, football, how it’s difficult, football, to be in the top position, and the challenge on Sunday is three points.
“Each team, they are fighting for each point strongly, and needing it, because we need to be in the top position, and they will need points to try to avoid the relegation position.”
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