Unai Emery admits Aston Villa’s start to the season has been poor, but he is relishing the chance to get one over on Crystal Palace.
Villa host a Palace side on Sunday who have beaten them four times in the past 15 months, scoring 16 goals across five meetings in all competitions.
Villa drew 2-2 in the corresponding fixture at Villa Park last season and are actually unbeaten in their last eight Premier League home games against the Eagles – a run that stretches back to a 1-0 loss on Boxing Day in 2013.
Emery’s side are also unbeaten in their last 19 home Premier League matches — the longest current home unbeaten run in the division.
However, after losing 1-0 at Brentford last week, Villa are in need of a victory in front of their home fans to lift the mood heading into transfer deadline day on Monday and then the September international break.
“Our start this season has been poor,” Emery admitted. “One point from six, and of course, even being unbeaten at home, we are again remembering how we lost last year, points at home, drawing a lot of matches in a row.
“It was a good point against Newcastle for the circumstances how we played and finished this match, but now we want to be unbeaten and we want to be strong at home. Energy is very important, but we need positive energy, if we can manage it in the right direction.”
“Of course, the energy in Villa Park is the start for the supporters, how they are supporting, helping, how they are as well pushing us in Villa Park, and then it’s the energy we can show them as well, transmitting, playing intense, playing dominating,” Emery continued.
“This is the challenge we have each match we are playing in Villa Park or away. On Sunday against Crystal Palace, especially how we performed against them the last two years, I think it’s really a huge challenge we will have. I am excited, motivated, and I want to try to show as well our capacity against them.”
Emery added: “The challenge with Crystal Palace is even more, because last year we couldn’t beat them, and of course because they are performing fantastic.
“The coach is really a very good coach. They have very good players, even they are selling players – Olise two years ago, now recently, Eberechi Eze – but they are still competing very well and still playing in their structure so, so strong.
“They are not winning matches, but they are competing very well, and of course, on Sunday for us, it’s going to be very, very difficult. My expectation is again when we are with the ball they are going to push up, they are going to get a lot of man to man.
“They are very, very dangerous in transition. We have to stop the transition. We have to try to dominate, but being well organised always with the ball, even without the ball.
“This is the match we are going to watch on Sunday, and how we can perform knowing them. We have to try to change the result we didn’t achieve last year.”
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