Unai Emery suggested Aston Villa "deserved more" than a point after coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace at Villa Park.

The result sees Villa's winless streak extend to six matches across all competitions (D2 L4), equalling their longest run without a victory under Emery (also six in April-May 2024).

After Ismaila Sarr's early opener, the hosts needed Ollie Watkins to pull them level before Ross Barkley cancelled out Justin Devenny's strike with 13 minutes to go.

Yet having seen a penalty saved and hitting the woodwork, Emery felt his team should have got more from the match.

"We deserved more, but we made some mistakes that we need to correct. We had chances to score, we came back. The penalty was a key moment," he told Sky Sports.

"In the second half, we pushed and felt close to scoring, but we have to accept one point."

Youri Tielemans had the opportunity to put Villa ahead on the stroke of half-time from the spot but placed his shot at a saveable height for Dean Henderson, who guessed the right way.

It allowed Palace to break down the other end through Sarr, who squared to Devenny to send the visitors into the lead just before the break.

Emery admitted his players are "concerned" about their vulnerability in transitions and rued the mistakes being made.

"Here at home, we were thinking how strong we were, winning 15 games in a row and how we can recover confidence, impose our gameplan. We are losing some opportunities. We are conceding a few chances for the opponent and making some mistakes," he told reporters.

"We are not getting three points but deserving here at home to win. We played well against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Man United and here. But we are making mistakes and they are punishing us.

"Overall we had more chances, we dominated the match. We have to correct matches where we play like we did today and get more points."

Villa led their opponents comfortably on expected goals (xG), accruing a total of 3.18 compared to Palace's 1.27.

The visitors also had key players Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton out, leading Oliver Glasner to be pleased with his side's fighting display.

"I'm very proud of the team's performance. We’re missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals," he said.

"I'm very proud how they played together, worked together, fight together and believed in getting a point here.

"Overall, it was a good performance for us, and we go home very pleased with the point."

Ross Barkley’s late headed equaliser helped Aston Villa earn a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Villa Park, although their winless run now stands at four matches in the league.

Unai Emery’s side could not shake their poor form as they were forced to come from behind twice at home to an injury-hit Palace team.

Ismaila Sarr got the visitors off to a flying start with his first-ever league goal for the club on four minutes as he slotted home on the break, though Ollie Watkins brought the hosts level in the 36th minute.

Villa could have gone ahead as Youri Tielemans saw a penalty saved just before half-time, but it was Palace who took advantage through Justin Devenny. The 21-year-old put visitors back in front in first-half stoppage time.

The hosts left it late to snatch an equaliser as Barkley headed home from Tieleman's corner off the left with 13 minutes to go.

Aston Villa go seventh in the table, while Crystal Palace drop below Wolves and into the relegation zone in 18th.

Data Debrief: Sarr and Watkins lead from the front

Watkins has been directly involved in 50 goals in 80 Premier League appearances at Villa Park (35 goals, 15 assists), now the outright most of any Villa player in the competition (Gabriel Agbonlahor, 49).

At the other end, Sarr scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the second time in his career, previously doing so versus Liverpool in February 2020.

Both players led their respective sides for expected goals (xG), with Sarr accruing a total of 0.69 from the right wing, while Watkins totalled more than penalty-taker Tielemans with 1.29 xG. 

Chris Richards says Crystal Palace could compete with anyone when they are at the "top of their game" ahead of their trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Palace have won just once in the league this season, a 1-0 home victory against Tottenham, and are yet to win on the road in the English top-flight, drawing two and losing three. However, they did beat the Villans 2-1 at Villa Park in the EFL Cup round of 16 at the end of October.

Richards acknowledged Palace's poor start to the campaign but remains confident in their ability to go toe-to-toe against anyone they face.

"[Oliver Glasner] told us from the jump that there was no reason we shouldn't be in a higher spot in the table, no reason why we should lose to any team," Richards told the club's in-house media.

"We could play a team winning the league – even when we played Manchester City, we were winning.

"City are City, and we lost the game, but it shows that while we were at the top of our game, we could play with any team in the league."

Meanwhile, after an impressive start to the season, Villa faltered slightly before the international break, going on a five-match winless run in all competitions, and losing the last three.

Morgan Rogers, who recently signed a new long-term extension with the club, has been a bright spark for Villa this term, netting three goals and registering two assists in the league, and he believes his form is helped by the faith shown in him by Unai Emery.

"I think any player would say that trust from a manager is the most important thing, and he gave me that from day one," he said.

"He threw me in the deep end when people were injured last season and gave me a chance to shine and develop and to become the person I am now.

"He's the perfect person for me. He demands and pushes me every day, and so do the players. I've got players around me that push me every day to improve and get better."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Aston Villa – Emiliano Martinez

Emiliano Martinez has the fourth-lowest save percentage in the Premier League this season (60.5%, minimum two games).

Only Alphonse Areola (-3.6) and Jose Sa (-2.9) have conceded more goals than expected according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model than the current Yashin Trophy holder (-2.2).

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored more Premier League goals (four) and recorded his joint-most assists (two) in the competition against Aston Villa than any other opponent.

The Frenchman was directly involved in four of the Eagles' five goals in their 5-0 win over the Villans on the final day of last season (three goals, one assist).  

MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN

Villa have lost just one of their 12 Premier League home games against Palace (W7 D4), never conceding more than once in any of these 12 meetings (six goals conceded in total).

The away side has won just three of the 24 Premier League meetings between Villa and Palace (D6 L15), with the Eagles' only victory at Villa Park coming in December 2013 (1-0).

However, Villa have lost both of their last two Premier League games and could lose three in a row in the competition for just the second time under manager Unai Emery, also doing so in February 2023.  

Meanwhile, Palace have registered just seven points from their opening 11 league games this season (W1 D4 L6), only picking up fewer points at this stage of a Premier League campaign in 2013-14 (four) and 2017-18 (four).

A repeat of their last meeting would be a welcome sight for Oliver Glasner though. Following their 5-0 win against Villa on the final day of last season's Premier League, Palace are looking to win consecutive league meetings with the Villans for the first time since a run of three between 2005 and 2014.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Aston Villa – 57.2%

Draw – 22.3%

Crystal Palace – 20.5%

Unai Emery urged his side to “keep improving” after Saturday's 2-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield.

Aston Villa have now lost four successive games in all competitions for the first time since April 2022.

They have also lost consecutive league matches for the first time since May 2023, after breakaway goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah sent Arne Slot's team five points clear at the top of the standings.

Emery was pragmatic in defeat but insisted his side need to up their game if they are to match the levels they set last season.

"We have to keep improving, recover some players who have just come back after long injuries. Some players are not in the same performance level as last year but today they were a bit better," he told TNT Sports.

"This year a lot of players have come back from long injuries. We have to try to keep the same positive attitude and mentality and try to accept the results that we have had this week.

"The league is tight, there are a lot of teams performing very well and we have to accept that we need to improve. We are under our level from last year a little bit but I am still confident."

Villa have recently seen the return of Tyrone Mings from a long-term injury, but there was further concern for Emery when Jacob Ramsey sustained an apparent hamstring issue late in the first half.

The Villans did have their chances at Anfield, with Amadou Onana and Diego Carlos forcing good saves out of Caoimhin Kelleher.

Indeed, Villa posted 1.5 expected goals (xG), compared to Liverpool's 2.02.

"Liverpool dominated at times but they did not have a lot of clear chances to score," reflected Emery.

"We did our work and we had the chances to score in the first half, in the second half, and we played more or less in the way I wanted."

Villa took 12 shots during the match, only two less than Liverpool (14), with an equal number coming from inside the box (nine each).

They also had shouts for a penalty prior to Liverpool's second goal when Pau Torres went down after he had his shirt pulled in the box, but their appeals were waved away.

"We have to try to be consistent in how we are building and responding. We have to compete and build a team, but we played the match we planned," Emery said, as reported by the Premier League's official website.

"We had chances to score, we had one penalty, maybe a potential penalty, for me, it's clear. With VAR, it was not but I have to accept the decision."

Emery also feels Villa lost to a team that are clear title contenders.

"They started better than us, they are contenders to win the title, but I think you have to try to get our way, and we are in this process," he said. "I am positive."

Edu will spend the next six months on gardening leave, while assistant sporting director Jason Ayto will take up his role during the search for a full-time replacement.

The news comes after the announcement earlier in the week that Edu was to leave Arsenal to work with Evangelos Marinakis' multi-club group, which includes Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners are giving themselves a long window to replace their sporting director and are prepared to wait for the right candidate.

Despite his abrupt departure partway through the season, the feeling towards Edu is of gratitude after installing a robust structure that the club can now work with.

The Brazilian is known to be a friend of Marinakis, who values the esteem in which Edu is held by his peers.

The salary offered to him for his move, as reported by Sky Sports News, would mean only Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery earn more than him among Premier League managers.

The role itself, meanwhile, will see Edu act as the CEO of the group.

Arne Slot believes hard work and intensity have been key to Liverpool's form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.

Slot has won 14 of his 16 matches in all competitions since taking charge at Anfield and, despite his magnificent start, he pointed out that it has not been easy.

"You only look at results. Brighton was a difficult one on Saturday where we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard and that is what you saw," he told the Independent.

"We have to work really hard with incredibly high intensity to win our games and that has a lot to do with teams who think Anfield is the best place to play, so every team we play against is at the top of their game. If you want to win you always have to be consistent in your intensity."

Having taken over from Jurgen Klopp, it was understandable that expectations had lowered when Slot took over, but after a stellar start to the season, Slot said he was unconcerned by the pressure.

"I think if you work at any club around the world there is always pressure. For some managers it is not to go down, for some they have to win a lot,” he added.

"In our position, there is always pressure and that is the pressure we give ourselves."

Villa, meanwhile, go into this game having lost back-to-back games against Tottenham in the Premier League and Club Brugge in the Champions League.

A bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings provided the winner for the Belgian side on Wednesday, but Unai Emery was still pleased with the intensity his side showed.

"The first half we played like we were planning... It was a mistake," Emery said after that game.

"It is difficult and here it is not strange. You watched the match and [Villa] playing, they finished exhausted. It was not intensity, it was that the match changed completely after our mistake."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

No player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (12) so far this season, with seven goals and five assists. He has also had the most touches in the opposition box this term (96), while of players to have had 20+ shots, no-one has hit a higher percentage of them on target (67% - 20/30).

The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances at Anfield in all competitions, while he was also credited with two assists in the 4-0 victory over Leverkusen last time out.

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

Only Erling Haaland (16) has had more big chances than Ollie Watkins (14) in the Premier League this season.

While Watkins has only scored five league goals, with four of those coming from the big chances, he is still Villa's top goalscorer.

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool have won five of their last six home games against Villa (D1), while the visitors have lost 16 of their last 18 Premier League away games against sides starting top of the table (D2).

A large part of Liverpool's early-season success has come from their defence, with only Manchester City (32) facing fewer shots on target than them (34) in the league. Liverpool, meanwhile, have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League (six).

Slot is also only the fifth manager to win eight of his first 10 Premier League matches in charge, with the club also unbeaten in their last seven (W5 D2) against Villa.

Slot's side have won four and lost one of their five home games in the league this season, accruing the joint third-most points (12).

However, Liverpool have conceded the first goal in their last two Premier League games but avoided defeat in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 2-1 v Brighton). Indeed, their win against Brighton was the 100th time they have come from behind to win a Premier League match, the third team to reach this milestone in the competition.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool – 61.8%

Draw – 19.7%

Aston Villa – 18.4%

Aston Villa bemoaned the controversial penalty decision that condemned them to a first Champions League defeat at Club Brugge on Wednesday.

On their return to Europe's elite club competition, Villa won their first three matches without conceding, but that run was ended in a 1-0 reverse in Belgium.

The decisive goal was highly contentious, however. Tyrone Mings was penalised for picking up a pass from Emiliano Martinez, apparently believing the Villa goalkeeper had not yet taken a goal-kick.

That error was punished as Hans Vanaken converted the consequent penalty, and Villa could not recover from a moment that boss Unai Emery felt altered the shape of the game.

"In the second half, the mistake changed everything," Emery said. "A team like [Brugge], they are playing at home, defensively strong, they then focus 100% to stop us. They were better than us."

Mings' defensive colleague Ezri Konsa described his frustration at the incident, suggesting Mings would have been sent off had there been a genuine infringement.

"It killed the game," Konsa said. "If it is a handball, deliberate, then he should get a second yellow.

"He's on a yellow already, so why not send him off for that then? It killed the game.

"But look, it happened, there's nothing we can do, we've just got to move on from it."

Villa have now lost three consecutive games in all competitions, matching their worst such run under Emery. They face Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool next at Anfield.

Emiliano Martinez was humble as he accepted the Yashin Trophy for the second straight year at the Ballon d'Or awards on Monday.

Martinez, who played a key role in Aston Villa's Champions League qualification last term before helping Argentina retain the Copa America title.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper won the Yashin Award in 2023, having been integral to Argentina's 2022 World Cup success, and he kept hold of the prize dished out to the best goalkeeper at the ceremony in Paris.

"I don’t see myself as the best – there are so many good goalies I see week in, week out," Martinez said upon accepting the award.

"I only care about group titles with the national team, with Aston Villa. I focus on myself and my goalie coaches know the work I put in every day.

"For me, it's about improving myself."

Martinez and Villa have made an impressive start to the campaign. They are top of the Champions League with three wins from as many matches, and occupy fourth spot in the Premier League ahead of Sunday's trip to Tottenham.

"It's huge for me," Martinez continued.

"I always dreamed of playing one game for the national team. Coming from such a young lad to England and trying to work my way up to succeed at Aston Villa and with the national team, winning one [cap] was an honour.

"Back-to-back [Yashin Trophies] is something I never expected. I'm just proud to be here today. All thanks go to my family and friends.

"We’re doing something amazing in the club, we're moving forward. We've won back-to-back trophies with the national team and that’s all I care about."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham - Son Heung-min

Son, who missed Spurs' defeat to Crystal Palace last week, has been involved in nine goals in eight Premier League games against Villa (six goals, three assists), though all six of his goals against them have come at Villa Park. No player has scored more against an opponent without netting a home goal in the competition.

Aston Villa - Emiliano Martinez

Fresh from winning the Yashin Trophy for a second time, Martinez will no doubt be out to prove his credentials as the best in the world.

Keeping a clean sheet and helping Unai Emery's team to victory would be a good start.

MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN

Spurs have lost two of their last three league matches, but Opta's supercomputer backs them to come out on top on Sunday.

Tottenham have scored 49 goals in 23 home Premier League games under Ange Postecoglou. The only boss to hit 50 goals in 24 or fewer home games with Spurs is Antonio Conte (50 in his first 20).

Only two of Tottenham's last 71 home Premier League games have ended as a draw (W47 L22) and they are the only side without a home draw since the start of last season (W16 L7).

Just Liverpool (13) and Nottingham Forest (11) have won more away Premier League points this season than Villa (10 – W3 D1). Villa have only won as many as four of their opening five away league games in a season once before, doing so in 2020-21 (W4 L1).

Tottenham have lost three of their last four Premier League meetings with Villa, though did win the last such match 4-0 in March, so while Opta's model fancies Spurs' chances, Villa will certainly be no pushovers.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Tottenham - 49.5%

Aston Villa - 27.6%

Draw - 22.9%

Unai Emery refused to blame his team selection as Aston Villa missed out on the EFL Cup quarter-finals after their 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Villa were dumped out of the competition in the fourth round, as Palace stunned the home crowd with Eberechi Eze's headed opener.

Both Eze and Adam Wharton were forced off injured in the first half, during which Jhon Duran levelled proceedings, though Daichi Kamada slammed into the bottom-left corner from outside the box to snatch the win.

Leon Bailey, John McGinn and Diego Carlos were the only regular starters Emery fielded in a rotated lineup, though the Villa manager defended his decision after the full-time whistle.

"We started with 11 players who are in the first team," Emery told Sky Sports. "We started with Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos, and they can play normally in the starting 11.

"We started with [Ian] Maatsen, [Boubacar] Kamara, McGinn, Duran and [Emiliano] Buendia. I don't know if I can have any regrets.

"Today, we competed and we lost, but we competed with the idea of players getting performances. Of course, we are frustrated, but if I repeated it again, I would play with the same players."

Oliver Glasner's Palace have struggled in the Premier League, leaving this result as somewhat of a surprise against Champions League opposition.

Victory came at a cost, however, as Eze limped off with a hamstring issue and Wharton suffered a groin problem.

"[We] started the game well," Glasner told Sky Sports. "The problem [with Eze] was his hamstring, and we don't know how serious it is.

"We concede and then have Adam's [Wharton] groin issue. [On Tuesday] he said he was fine, but his pain got worse. It's too early, but I am positive as it's nothing new. He has had groin problems for many months. 

"We thought he needed a break, but yesterday, he gave the thumbs up."

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said his side deserved the win after they were pegged back in a late 1-1 draw by Bournemouth in the Premier League. 

Coming on the back of a 2-0 defeat of Bologna – their third straight win in the Champions League which propelled them to the top of the 36-team table – Villa were frustrated by a brilliant goalkeeping display from Mark Travers. 

But they found a way past the 25-year-old custodian in the 76th minute when Ross Barkley came off the bench to turn in a ball from Leon Bailey. 

The Cherries, however, had the final say at Villa Park as Evanilson glanced a Marcus Tavernier free-kick into the net to salvage a point for the visitors in the sixth minute of stoppage time. 

The result left Spanish tactician Emery frustrated as Villa were held to a third draw in four league matches, despite an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.8 and several attempts on target against the visitors on Saturday. 

"We played a fantastic match. We played I think the best minutes since the start of the season. The first half we controlled the game, but we didn't score, or when we did it was a no goal,” Emery told Sky Sports. 

"The second half we started even better than the first half. We were pushing, dominating, creating chances. The goalkeeper was saving a lot of times.

"We scored the goal, fantastic, but we didn't manage the last 10 minutes. They scored at the last moment and we have to accept it.

John McGinn believes Unai Emery has already cemented his status as one of Aston Villa's "greatest managers", following their perfect start in the Champions League.

Appearing in Europe's premier club competition for the first time in over 40 years, Villa have won each of their opening three matches, while they are yet to concede a goal.

Their unblemished start continued on Tuesday, with goals from McGinn and Jhon Duran sealing a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Villa Park and moving them top of the league table.

Though Villa are still seeking their first silverware under Emery during his two-year spell, McGinn thinks the Spaniard's place in the club's history is already secured.

"No matter what happens until now and whenever he leaves - we hope it's never - he will certainly go down as one of our club's greatest managers," the skipper said.

"You feed off your leader. He is our leader and we feed off that. No-one can question what he puts in, the effort - and everything which comes his way and our way is on the back of hard work.

"He is just so driven. I have never met anyone like him. He just focuses his full energy all the time. 

"He does not let us take our foot off the gas, so we can use all our energy and enthusiasm, and the excitement we have. His determination and intensity is unmatched."

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery insisted that there is no issue between him and Jhon Duran after the striker reacted angrily to being substituted against Bologna on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was taken off almost immediately after scoring the second goal in their Champions League victory and was visibly angry, punching the back of a dugout seat.

Duran's 64th minute strike saw him become the first Aston Villa player since Gary Shaw in 1982-83 to score in successive games for the club in the competition. 

The Colombian has notched four goals from his eight Premier League appearances this season, despite not starting in the top-flight so far under Emery, though the Spaniard has been impressed with his displays.

"I have no problem with his reaction. Every message we send in the dressing room is about respect and having our values," Emery told The Independent.

“Some young players can react a little bit but it is under my control... Always it is more difficult to start when the opponents are fresh."

“He played very well and he scored a good goal. It was fantastic the way he accelerated," he said.

“We will play both strikers sometimes and when they play individually as well as today – with Ollie Watkins – it is best for the team."

That result maintained Villa's 100% start in Europe, while they are also currently fourth in the Premier League and four points off top.

But the Villa manager did not want to get carried away despite what he and his team have achieved thus far.

“We are going to focus on each match and how we are in the moment,” he added.

“There are other contenders, bigger favourites than us but we are improving and we will see how we continue.”

Bournemouth, meanwhile, arrived in the Midlands on the back of their most impressive win of the season to date.

Their 2-0 victory over Arsenal was their third of the campaign, and came at a time when they had lost three in their last four games in the Premier League.

Bournemouth's opening goal in that victory came from an ingenious set-piece routine, with Ryan Christie firing in a wonderful finish.

It is something that Villa will have to be wary of ahead of this Saturday's game, with manager Andoni Iraola confirming they had worked on it in the week.

"The advantage they have at set plays is they are taller than us so we had to find another way to make a difference," he told BBC Sport.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Aston Villa - Youri Tielemans

Tielemans has created 17 chances for Aston Villa so far this term, which is more than any of his team-mates.

He is currently creating an average of 2.1 chances per 90 minutes - his best ratio in the Premier League - while also supplying three assists.

Bournemouth - Antoine Semenyo

Semenyo has been Bournemouth's leading attacking threat this season, with three goals and one assist in the Premier League.

The Ghana international has had a league-high 37 shots, which is at least two more than any other player.

MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN

Aston Villa have carried on their impressive form from last season into this. They have picked up 17 points in their eight Premier League games this season, which is just the third time they’ve had that many points at this stage. 

And having lost their first two Premier League home games against Bournemouth in 2016 and 2019, the Villans have won the last two by an aggregate score of 6-1.

But Emery's men have also showcased their powers of recovery this term. Only Manchester City (13) have won more points from losing positions in the Premier League this season than Villa (10), who have won three games despite conceding first so far this campaign.

Bournemouth, however, have won 50% of their eight Premier League games against Aston Villa (W4 D1 L3) – of those they’ve faced as many times, against no side do they have a higher win rate in the competition.

But the Cherries have struggled away from the Vitality Stadium. They have lost six of their last nine away Premier League matches (W2 D1), losing their last two without scoring since their late 3-2 comeback victory against Everton at the end of August.

No team has scored more goals from the 70th minute onwards of games in the Premier League this season than Bournemouth (six). The average minute of their goals has been the 63rd minute, the latest average by a team in a single Premier League campaign.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Aston Villa - 48.8%

Draw - 23.9%

Bournemouth - 27.3%

Aston Villa extended their 100% record in the Champions League this season by beating Bologna 2-0 at home on Tuesday.

The result leaves Villa top of the 36-team league table, with three victories, six goals scored and zero conceded.

Unai Emery's side claimed the victory thanks to second-half goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran, who was starting just his second match of the season in all competitions.

Villa controlled the match for large periods and had multiple chances to open the scoring before McGinn's free-kick went all the way through a sea of bodies and into the top corner. The Scot's goal was checked by VAR for a possible handball but later confirmed. 

Duran then doubled their lead in the 64th minute - Morgan Rogers swung a cross into the box, which the Colombian flicked into the goal after holding off a defender.

Next up for Villa in the Champions League is a trip to Club Brugge, while Bologna - who are 28th with one point - host Monaco.

Data debrief: Villa make history

Villa's victory on Tuesday helped them become only the third team to ever win their first three Champions League matches without conceding.

Unai Emery, meanwhile, became only the fifth Spanish manager to have won 25 matches in the competition, alongside Pep Guardiola, Vicente Del Bosque, Rafa Benitez and Luis Enrique.

For Bologna, it is one victory in 11 matches in all competitions so far this season.

Unai Emery insists Aston Villa must continue striving to "break barriers" as the club look to take a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages. 

Emery's side welcome Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday, aiming to maintain their perfect record in the competition so far. 

They also come into the encounter unbeaten in nine games in all competitions after defeating Fulham 3-1 in the Premier League, a result that propelled them into the top four. 

Emery is looking to pick up his 25th Champions League win, and would become the fifth Spanish manager to reach that total after Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benítez, Vicente del Bosque and Luis Enrique.

But aside from personal accolades, Emery has his eyes set on helping the Villans become regular contenders for silverware during his time at the helm. 

"I don't want to waste my time here, that is my message," said Emery. "We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League.

"It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances - I want us to stay there for a long time.

"You have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers."

Should Villa beat the Serie A side, they will also equal their longest streak of victories in the European Cup or Champions League, last earning three consecutive wins between September and October 1981. 

Emery will celebrate his second anniversary as Villa manager on Thursday but is only looking at how he can help the club continue to grow after their meteoric rise under his stewardship in the last 24 months.

"The most important thing is for us how we are increasing our demands and with those getting the objectives we are facing each year," he outlined.

"Two years ago we avoided a risk of relegation and even had time to get a position in the Conference League, which was amazing in the first seven months we had here.

"Last year we continued our process, and we increased a lot our demands, getting the Champions League.

"The challenge is to get better every day, and now how can we keep the same level we have now for a long time? That’s the most difficult thing.

"When you achieve an objective at a high level, how can you be demanding and successful in keeping it? That’s the idea I have now. The club is in the same way.

"The players are with the same message I am giving you here. The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is I don’t want to waste my time here.

"That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here. We are professionals, and we can get our best objectives individually and collectively.

"We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy."

Tuesday's fixture against Bologna will be the first time the two sides faced each other in any competition, though Villa have struggled against sides from Italy. 

They have lost four of their six major European games against Italian sides, with the two wins both coming at home against Inter in 1990 and 1994, in the UEFA Cup.

Marco Silva is hoping Fulham’s 3-2 defeat to champions Manchester City will give his players “courage” against Aston Villa upon their return to Premier League action.

The Cottagers went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s side before the international break but were made to rue missed opportunities during the contest, with Adama Traore the most notable for squandering some gilt-edged chances at the Etihad.

However, Silva is confident his team can take encouragement from their display as they aim to maintain their unbeaten record at Craven Cottage this season.

“To see City finish with three central defenders with five at the back shows that we were creating problems for them, not just in transition,” Silva said.

“It gives us courage. We know what we are capable of doing, and it gives us the confidence to keep going in the direction that we want to go in, and to stick with our philosophy as a team.

“Looking at the chances that we did create throughout the game and comparing with City, we deserved more. But that’s football.”

Unai Emery, meanwhile, insisted his Aston Villa side will be raring to go when they return to domestic action after their stalemate with Manchester United last time out.

It was the Villans’ first goalless draw at Villa Park in the Premier League since May 2021, while the expected goals (xG) total between the two sides was just 1.05 – the lowest in a top-flight match so far this season.

With the international break allowing Villa to recuperate after a busy September schedule that saw them start their Champions League campaign with two wins, returning players will be a welcome addition, the Spaniard believes.

“It’s a nice moment to rest. This week we are going to work and recover some players. We are going to add [Boubacar] Kamara and [Tyrone] Mings, which is very good news. Hopefully some injured players can come back for the next match against Fulham,” Emery said.

“We will need players. Today we were more or less with some players out and we needed fresh players with good legs in the second half to help get our objective in this match.

“The players were really focusing on this match and gave their best. I’m happy because we are feeling strong here with our supporters and keeping a good position in the league and Champions League targeting our objectives. We are going to try to get there.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Andreas Pereira

No player has played more passes (including crosses) into the opposition box than Fulham’s Pereira in the Premier League this season (64), with the Brazilian also creating the most chances from set plays (16).

Pereira has also created 23 chances overall this term (level with Cole Palmer and Dwight McNeil), a total only bettered by Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (27) in the Premier League so far.

Aston Villa – Jhon Duran

After netting in midweek while on international duty with Colombia, Duran will be hoping to continue his remarkable scoring streak at Craven Cottage.

Duran has four goals in just 184 minutes of action in the Premier League this season, averaging a goal every 46 minutes so far. This is the best minutes-per-goal ratio of anyone to feature for at least 90 minutes this term.

MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN

Fulham are unbeaten in their three Premier League home games so far this season (W2 D1). They last had a longer run without defeat at Craven Cottage from the start of a campaign in 2011-12 (four).

The Cottagers lost this exact fixture 2-1 in February last season, though they have never lost consecutive home league games against Aston Villa before.

However, they face an uphill task against Emery’s men, who are unbeaten in their last five league games (W3 D2), though their 0-0 draw with United last time out was their first clean sheet in 12 Premier League matches.

Visits to London have proven fruitful for the Villans in recent years. They have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games in the capital (W8 D3). Their eight wins in this time (all under Emery) are as many as they’d managed in their previous 48 top-flight games in London.

Villa have also won five of their last six Premier League games against Fulham (L1), including the last three in a row. It’s more wins than they’d managed in their previous 19 against the Cottagers in the top-flight (W4 D10 L5), while they’ve never won four in a row against them in their league history.

No team has scored more goals from crosses than Aston Villa in the Premier League this season (five). No player has scored more such goals than Ollie Watkins (two), while Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans have two such assists each – only Saka (four) has more.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 40.5%

Draw – 25.5%

Aston Villa – 34%