Emery will be looking to make it to the Europa League match against Forest, hoping Villa will play smarter and enjoy the game.

The first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League semi-finals will take place, with Aston Villa traveling to Nottingham Forest. Emery stated in a press conference that even against familiar opponents, the pace of European competition is drastically different, and therefore he hopes his team can play smarter and enjoy the game.

In the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Aston Villa secured a 4-0 victory over Bologna, thanks to goals from Watkins, Buendia, Morgan Rodgers, and Konsa, thus advancing to the semi-finals. However, in their earlier Premier League match, Aston Villa suffered a 0-1 away defeat to Fulham.

As for Nottingham Forest, Vitor Pereira's team has achieved an unbeaten record of 3 wins and 2 draws in the last 5 rounds of the Premier League, and their overall form is excellent.

Looking back at their head-to-head record, Aston Villa have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 matches against Nottingham Forest.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said, "It's a two-legged tie. The first 90 minutes are of course very important, but there's a second leg to play. When teams play each other in the Premier League, the game may seem similar, but the tempo management is different. Even the first half of the first leg and the second half of the second leg are completely different phases of the game. I expect it to be a long and drawn-out battle."

"Why do I say that? Because they are in excellent form right now, full of confidence, and their performances in the last two matches have been amazing, scoring 4 and 5 goals respectively and winning. In the Europa League, they have also been very competitive. Whether against Porto or Midtjylland, they have played very well, and even when the scores were close, they were very competitive."

Calling on players to unite and strive to achieve the goal

Emery pointed out, "Therefore, I expect this to be a very tough game, and a very tactical contest. We also need to play smartly and competitively, and try to enjoy the game."

“I wouldn’t particularly expect to gain an advantage in the first leg. Considering Nottingham Forest’s current form, confidence, and competitiveness, if you analyze their recent matches, they have every reason to believe they can gain the upper hand, as they have scored 9 goals in their last two games.”

Emery emphasized, "But we also need to look forward to our own performance tomorrow, to play competitively, to be tactically sound, both defensively and offensively, and to try to control the game, or at least limit their attack and momentum, including their set pieces, because they score a lot of goals in that area."

"We are in the Europa League semi-final stage, and the season is also nearing its end. In the Premier League, our goals are within reach and very important, especially qualifying for the Champions League."

In addition, Emery said, "I think every player must stay focused, be full of fighting spirit whether they start or not, and be ready to play 90 minutes, 30 minutes, or even just 2 minutes. That's the momentum the team is on right now."

"Now is not the time for players to play individually or pursue individual performances, but a time for the team. Everyone must unite because we are at a very crucial stage of the season, facing extremely important goals, including the Europa League semi-finals and a top-five finish in the Premier League."

Image source: Internet