Emery wants Euro double as Villa aim to go Cherry-picking
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery ha set his sights onchampionsleague qualification and Europa Conference League glory.
Villa are leading Spurs in the race for the Premier League top four with five games to go, starting with the visit of Bournemouth today.
They also have Chelsea, Liverpool and Brighton to play and their chances of success are complicated by their run to the last four of the Conference League, which continues their taxing ThursdaySunday schedule.
Emery said: “I am very happy with the players we have and I want to give them chances to play. In different ways this year,everyplayerhasan opportunity to play and Iwanttogetthebestof them from now until the end of the season. “Wearegoingtoplay a semi-final and the last five matches in the Premier League trying to getachampionsleague position, trying to be demanding with our way in the Europa Conference League, playing for a final.”
Villa have been operating with limited numbers due to seasonending injuries, with Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia, Boubacar
Kamara and Jacob Ramsey all sidelined.
If they are to compete at the top end again next season they will need to improve their squad and Emery says work is under way.
“We are focusing in eachmatchandinour moment,” he said. “The club is working with the possibilities for the next year,howwecanimprove the squad with players.” Bournemouth are chasing their best ever Premier League points tally, and Emery added: “Bournemouth are playing very well, they are very competitive and they demand a lot if we want to beat them. My first objective is to recover the playerswhoplayed120 minutes and the emotion wehadonthursday. “We need to rest and recover for Sunday. We will need to rest the players.
“Bournemouth, really I appreciate the coach and the players. They are pushing, pushing and pushing always.” Cherries manager Andoni Iraola says his side must become “more ruthless” in their pursuit of points.
The Cherries are 13th in the table on 42 points and need five more from their remaining six games
to surpass the 46 points they achieved when finishing ninth under Eddie Howe in 2016-17.
But Iraola feels his side must close out games they have dominated and pointed to last week’s 2-2 home draw against Manchester United as the perfect example.
The 41-year-old Spaniard said: “I think we played really well the other day. I think we deserved probably to win the game, but it’s true that we didn’t.
“And at the end of the season, more than the performances, you want the points because you don’t have time to recover the points you lose.
“And we have to find ways to win these kind of games where we are better, we have more chances, because it’s the Premier League.”
Iraola is a big admirer of Emery and the impact he has had onvilla.
He said: “They have a very good team, a manager that I rate very highly and it’s going to be a difficult, very difficult, game for us.”
Iraola hopes striker Antoine Semenyo is fit after missing out against United due to a calf injury.
But midfielder Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) is still out and Colombia winger Luis Sinisterra could miss the rest of the season after suffering a recurrence of a muscle strain.