The first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League Round of 16 will kick off, with Aston Villa traveling to face Lille in Ligue 1. At a press conference, Emery stated that the players need to strive to utilize their individual strengths during the match, and that the team's fundamental structure needs to be more stable.

In an earlier Premier League match, Aston Villa scored a goal through Douglas Luiz, but then conceded several goals in quick succession, ultimately losing 1-4 to Chelsea.

For Lille, Genesio's team was held to a 1-1 draw by Lorient in the previous Ligue 1 match.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said at a press conference, "As we've come this far, we've gradually built up the team's structure through our experience in different competitions. For example, two years ago we participated in the European Championship, and then the Champions League and Europa League."

“We have always required the team to maximize its strengths as a whole, while also allowing the players to feel comfortable on an individual level. Our philosophy and playing style should remain consistent, but we will make adjustments based on the opponents. In competition, we need to leverage both the team's overall strength and individual abilities to build such a system.”

Emery pointed out, "We maintain a very disciplined team structure in every game, but sometimes opponents disrupt our rhythm with different tactics or individual player abilities, making our structure less stable. Especially against Chelsea, we had more structural problems than usual. This week we also used the limited training time to make adjustments, trying to rebuild and strengthen everything we need for the upcoming games."

"In our system, we also talk about managing emotions. We must control the emotions at the team level, as well as the players' emotions, and tomorrow we have a big game. Two years ago when we played Lille here, the French fans and Lille supporters in the stadium were cheering for their team. But tomorrow we need to focus on the game itself, and we will try to maintain a stronger focus at both the team and individual levels, while managing our emotions together."

Emery also said, "When we have possession, the opponents will try to win back possession aggressively, and there will be a lot of physical contact in the game. They will also launch counter-attacks after winning back possession, and they will also try to disrupt or break up our structure, but I really appreciate their style of play."

"This will be a huge test. We will play the second leg at home, but I expect both matches to be very difficult before they start. Therefore, we must remain highly focused, work hard to make our structure more solid, and make the players feel comfortable during the game."

Image source: Internet