The 2025-26 Premier League season is about to kick off, and Aston Villa will face Newcastle United at Villa Park in the opening match.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said in his pre-match press conference that he was looking forward to returning to the home touchline and made clear his ambitions for the new season.

Talking about the opening game, Emery said frankly: "We are very excited and hope to show it tomorrow at Villa Park. I like to start the new season in front of the fans. When we won at home last year, the atmosphere we and the fans created was very wonderful, and I believe it will be the same feeling tomorrow."

Facing a fierce rival, Newcastle United, Emery did not shy away from admitting the difficulty of the challenge: "They are very good in terms of tactical structure and individual player abilities. They are a team with both offensive and defensive capabilities and strong confrontation capabilities."

"We've had mixed results against them over the past three years, but tomorrow we'll give it our all thanks to our home stadium and the support of our fans. The difference in goals scored or conceded determined the outcome. This year we'll start afresh, compete with them again, and demonstrate our team's strength and tactical philosophy."

Regarding the goal for this season, Emery was firm: "When I first arrived at Aston Villa, the goal was to win a trophy, and this has not changed. Now we are in Europe, which means we have more opportunities to win honors."

"This season we will compete in four competitions: the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup. In each competition, we must go all out and strive for breakthroughs."