A crunch clash awaits Aston Villa as they look to secure Champions League football against Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp praising one Villa man.
Aston Villa’s hopes of winning a trophy were crushed by Olympiacos on Thursday night. The Villans travelled to Greece 4-2 behind and needed to pull off a historic comeback to reach the final.
Sadly, Ayoub El Kaabi scored his fourth goal against Villa inside 10 minutes – after netting a hat-trick in the first leg – to put the tie beyond Unai Emery’s reach.
The only positive to come from being knocked out is now fully focusing on finishing in the top four, currently boasting a seven-point advantage over fifth-place Tottenham.
Villa need just two points from their final two games to guarantee Champions League football, although if Tottenham lose against Burnley on Saturday, Emery’s men can go into their contest against Liverpool with the shackles off.
The Spaniard has orchestrated a historic season at Villa Park, which has drawn plaudits from many of football’s elite, including Jurgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp drops ‘incredible’ praise for Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
There is something heartwarming about two managers having respect for each other. Emery has won the respect of most Premier League bosses this season and the latest of those plaudits comes from Klopp, who has been left impressed with the job he’s done.
Having claimed he’s one of the best managers in the world while lauding him for how he organises his team, the German tactician told Liverpool’s official website: “Incredible job. Unai Emery is one of the best we have in the business, 100 per cent.
“Wherever he was he had success. Sometimes clubs were not ready to wait for it, maybe, if you look back probably these clubs would have made different decisions.
“I have known him for so long, I think when I met him first time he was managing in Moscow, it was in Russia I’m pretty sure at that time. That’s really long ago and he always had a clear idea.
“Then he won plenty of times with Sevilla. It was really tricky for us when we faced him with Villarreal. He always organised a team extremely, extremely well. The job he is doing is absolutely exceptional.”
How Aston Villa can beat Liverpool on Monday
Although Emery would love to have a fully fit squad at his disposal, he may have Youri Tielemans, Alex Moreno and Nicolo Zaniolo to pick from; a trio that missed their semi-final clash against Olympiacos.
The key to overcoming Klopp’s Liverpool side however, is to get in their faces from early on and not allow them to grab a foothold in the match.
If Villa can take control of possession early and push the Reds into their half, they could have some joy.
Of course, Liverpool carry a threat through the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez in attack, but as they commit bodies forward, Emery’s men can hit them on the counter.
Ollie Watkins will be hungry to get the better of Virgil van Dijk while electric winger Leon Bailey can have the beating of Andy Robertson, who likes to get forward at any opportunity.
Nonetheless, it promises to be a fascinating contest at Villa Park as the hosts dream of replicating their 7-2 win a few years ago.
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