Aston Villa

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Three years of Unai Emery: rather longer already than the average managerial tenure these days, and with so much packed into that time.

Yet, as fan contributor Hannah Gowen put it so beautifully on this page on Tuesday, it does indeed feel as though Emery is "still in his adolescence at Villa".

While even the most apparently unassailable managers can be laid low by a few weeks of bad results, there is no reason to think that either Villa or Emery have even the slightest doubt that their partnership will run for another three years yet, and probably more after that.

And there is much still to be done.

Emery could doubtless list plenty of reasons why he wanted to join Villa in the first place, but foremost among them will surely have been to win things. Looking back to 2022, we find Emery talking of "a great project" and making progress "step by step". He has done that, no question. But Emery has a record of winning trophies and the owners are known to be aiming high and prepared to spend to get there.

They would like to have spent more, of course. It in no way devalues Emery's achievements to note that Villa have still, notwithstanding PSR, laid out a great deal of money during his three years. It is easy to spend money badly, as we have often seen.

However, the best measure of the difference Emery has made to Villa is not in the amount spent, but the nominal value now of so many of the players he inherited. The evidence before us, and all over his team, is that Emery makes players better, though he might say he merely helps them to make themselves better. Either way, his work enhances their value to Villa on the field, let alone the price they might command if they were ever to be sold.

With a showman's timing, one such player - Matty Cash - has both scored a splendid match-winning goal and signed a new contract in recent days. Out of contract at the end of this season, his record for club and country would have made him an attractive option around England and Europe next summer and he might have commanded a chunky wage in the free-agent market.

Many of Villa's regulars, like Cash, pre-date the arrival of Emery and his famously intense approach at Villa Park. Not many have asked to move away since Emery became their boss, which in itself feels like a good recommendation of a manager.

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Aston Villa are holding talks with Morgan Rogers over a new contract after Chelsea and Tottenham showed serious interest in the attacking midfielder during the summer. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Meanwhile, Villa are in the race for Strasbourg and Ivory Coast right-back Guela Doue, with Chelsea and Brighton also keen. (Football Transfers), external

Finally, Villa, Liverpool and Newcastle are among the clubs considering a move for Club Brugge's and Ecuador centre-back Joel Ordonez, 21. (Ekrem Konur), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Hannah Gowen
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The past week marked three years of Unai Emery in charge at Aston Villa.

In the modern game, it feels like managerial churn comes thick and fast, with few managers standing the test of time. Three years seems marginal in the grand scheme of things, with Emery still in his adolescence at Villa. However, it feels like a moment to celebrate and reflect on an utterly remarkable and transformational 36 months at the club.

Since his first game in charge at home against Manchester United, a jubilant 3-1 victory, Villa Park has become the fortress that the club so desperately needed. For too many years, fans arrived in B6 with little expectation. Since Emery's arrival, Villa's home record has been fierce, including going unbeaten for over a year. He has almost single-handedly raised the bar of what we expect from our football club.

The Spaniard has also coached his team into a tactical machine. Inspired by the likes of Pep Guardiola, Emery's Villa team at its best is unstoppable - hard-working, aggressive and clinical. He has improved individual players beyond what would have initially been thought possible, with a huge proportion of his squad left over from several previous managers; Steven Gerrard, Dean Smith and even a Scottish skipper inherited from Steve Bruce.

Simply, he gets the best out of his players. A well-respected man, whose reputation as a gentleman and managerial mastermind precedes him.

Wins against Arsenal, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and PSG spring to mind - huge occasions where Villa have shown their mettle on the big stage - but some of my favourite Emery moments have been tactical masterclasses on the road at the likes of Bournemouth or Brighton. These are the results that have granted us three consecutive European seasons - something none of us could have comprehended when Gerrard left in 2022.

A true gift to our football club - here's to you, Unai Emery.

Find more from Hannah Gowen at UTV, external

We asked for your views on Monday's announcement that right-back Matty Cash has signed a new contract with Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Ian: I'm delighted the 'Polish Cafu' has signed a new contract. Against Manchester City, he showed how good a defender he can be and increasingly that there's a goal or two in him too! Twenty four hours on, I'm still celebrating his left-foot strike yesterday!

Tony: Cash and Buendia are two first-teamers that I would have happily sold/upgraded over the summer as Buendia had never looked like being the player that we all hoped he would be when we beat Arsenal to his signature and Cash has always had an error in him and typically offered little end product going forward. However, both have come back after this summer and upgraded themselves! Cash has looked solid and also been a goal threat. Buendia has been like a new £50-60m creative signing.

Simon: I've never known a right-back pass the ball backwards as much as Cash does. Risk averse, ball watcher, often caught out of position by attackers with guile.

Prit: If you were to write your Aston Villa first XI, Matty Cash would be there. Hopefully he can become more consistent and continue to show our forwards where the back of the net is.

Wayne: Thank goodness Matty Cash has decided to stay. Best player by far in the last two matches and you can see he is loving it at the moment. He's fired up. If we can get Watkins fired up as well, we are in for an exciting season again.

Richard: He just seems to be getting better and better.

Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash has signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2029.

The 28-year-old joined Villa from Nottingham Forest in 2020 for about £16m and has now made 193 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals and providing 12 assists in all competitions.

Cash has been a consistent figure under Unai Emery and has featured in every game so far this season, contributing two goals including the winner against Manchester City on Sunday.

Our Villa fan writer suggested last week that the Poland international had been the number one scapegoat in recent seasons, with fans calling for right-back alternatives in transfer windows, but how do you feel about Cash's importance to the side?

How valuable is he? Can he push on even more now his future is committed to the club?

Get in touch with your views here

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Here are some of your comments:

Aston Villa fans

Meerkat: Excellent result, from a hard-working team with talent and a very good manager!

Sam: We look far more balanced and like we can control a game when we go ahead. Still a little lacking across the front, but that will come as Sancho and Elliott push to start. Great to see Unai able to celebrate his three years with us with a win. He's a legend.

Chris: We wanted it more than Manchester City did, plain and simple. Great strike by Matty Cash. Superb defending in the second half. Everyone putting their bodies on the line. All around, great team effort.

Simon: Such a disciplined performance from Villa under Emery yet again. Who'd have thought we'd be one victory from the top two after the start we had?

Manchester City fans

Mike: Too many average players in the team now, they need replacing.

Harry: Completely wrong starting XI from Pep, really felt like classic overcomplicating. We have had a winning formula in the recent run of games, and he's changed it unnecessarily. Credit to Villa as they're always a hard game, but I don't know how we expect to score if we aren't swinging the ball into the box. We are so frail without a DM on the pitch; Gonzalez or Kovacic have to be non-negotiable starters.

Colin: Flat and disjointed, no energy, we play 10 passes when a couple will do. And when we approach the opposition area, nobody shoots from a distance. There are a few who need to be gone as soon as possible, just not good enough.

Rob: City's squad is not strong enough, and poor recruitment plagues their midfield and attacking options. Safe to say that we have a load a good players, only a few really good ones. In my opinion, the manager does not know his best 11, leading to some really strange team selections. Crying out for a world-class holding midfielder, as Rodri will never get back to his best.

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy says Aston Villa took advantage of Manchester City's unexpected team selection which contained no orthodox defensive midfielder for Sunday's fixture.

"I was really surprised to see the team sheet, as I am sure Villa's players were too," Murphy said after Villa's 1-0 win.

"Guardiola had three defensive midfield players on the bench and he decided to play two holding midfielders which Villa took advantage of brilliantly.

"They outnumbered City's back four."

Pundits Danny Murphy and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City

• Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

• Wolves 2-3 Burnley

• Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest

• Everton 0-3 Tottenham

England midfielder Morgan Rogers, 23, is in advanced talks with Aston Villa over a new contract. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa failed to win any of their first six games this season, scoring just twice during that run, but have improved markedly since with six victories in their last seven matches.

They became the only team in top-flight history to have a five-game winless start in the league and then win the next four games since Preston in 1936-37.

The only blot was Thursday's loss in Europe, but they put that behind them with an impressive shut-out against one of the division's form teams.

Villa have been transformed since the arrival of Unai Emery from Villarreal, taking a side that were three points above the relegation zone to the Champions League - and narrowly missing out on doing the same last term.

This was their third straight league victory over Manchester City at a buoyant Villa Park - last doing so in 1960 and 1975 - and the fans are fully behind their manager after their slow start to the campaign.

Centre-halves Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres were solid at the heart of the defence and needed to be to shackle the imperious Haaland, while Amadou Onana provided a shield as an enforcer in front of the backline.

Villa's defence will take much of the plaudits, and it was fitting right-back Matty Cash scored the decisive goal - his second this term - with an erring finish that left Gianluigi Donnarumma rooted to his line.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery spoke to BBC's Match of the Day after beating Manchester City 1-0: "Our fortress. Villa Park. We are feeling here so, so good. The positive energy to us was fantastic. We needed to show our wishes and commitment, and our capacity to play.

"I think everything trying to get together, the positive energy, the quality of the players, the tactics that we did and the effort. I am so proud. How the supporters are pushing us is very, very important.

"We responded fantastic. Of course, we started the first 10 minutes a little bit off. But then we started getting in good positions, and we were creating chances. Of course, we needed the second goal in case they scored. They did score, but it was offside, very tight.

"It is important to keep being consistent in this way.

On goalscorer Matty Cash: "He has a very good shot. He scored two goals a few weeks ago with his national team. Of course, second actions are really important, and he did a very good goal.

"We have players who are progressively getting better. Being confident and playing with qualities. This is the combination we have to have."

Villa defender Matty Cash also spoke to BBC's Match of the Day: "It was a nice strike. It's something we worked on yesterday in training, not exactly for me to hit it

"It was a special corner, but it wasn't meant for me.

"I've had a few like them. I've scored four this season for club and country. On the edge of the box I like shooting, it's what I like to do in training, hit them nice and sweet.

"We work a lot on set-pieces. Over the last couple of years, there have been a lot of set-pieces that have won us games, and today is no different.

"The last month we've been really good. Defensively, really good. We've just stuck together as a group and at Villa Park, they're always behind us."

Listen to more from Emery on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Aston Villa have lost just two of their 24 Premier League home games since the start of last season (W14 D8), with no ever-present side losing fewer matches in the competition across that period (Liverpool and Arsenal, also two).

• Matty Cash has scored two goals across his last five Premier League appearances, more strikes than he managed in his previous 57 games in the competition (one).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Aston Villa's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Aston Villa make six changes to the side that suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday, with the big guns all returning.

Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara, Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash all start.

Jadon Sancho, Evan Guessand, Lamare Bogarde, Ian Maatsen, Tyrone Mings and Victor Lindelof drop out.

Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, McGinn, Onana, Kamara, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola makes three alterations to the side that won in Villarreal during the week.

Oscar Bobb gets a start in place for Jeremy Doku, while Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders also come in.

Nico Gonzalez is fit enough for the bench after hobbling off in Spain with a foot issue, while Rico Lewis also drops out.

Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Stones, Dias, Gvardiol, Reijnders, Silva, Foden, Savinho, Bobb, Haaland.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Man City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Wolves v Burnley - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Everton v Tottenham (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Arsenal v Crystal Palace" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Wolves v Burnley", for instance.

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What a phenomenal player Erling Haaland is.

All the Fantasy Football talk at the start of the season was about Haaland versus Mohamed Salah, and on the FPL podcast I do with Alistair Bruce-Ball and Statman Dave, they both said 'Haaland? No chance' and they went with Salah as captain.

Guess what they are doing now? They have copied me and got Haaland as captain, and so has everyone else. It is dull as anything because everyone in the world has done the same.

We are at the stage now where we just expect him to score, the same as he does. He is like my old Blackburn strike partner Alan Shearer in that you just know it will happen.

In fairness to Manchester City, they are more than just a one-man team. Phil Foden is looking sharp again and I love the signing of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Still, like City, Villa have won their past three league games so this is going to be a tough test for Pep Guardiola's side.

City have lost on their past two visits to Villa Park and, while I don't see them getting turned over this time, they might have to settle for a point.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City continue their push towards the top of the Premier League table on Sunday against an Aston Villa side who have beaten them on their past two trips to Villa Park.

City may not top the Premier League table but they have won more points than any other side since the start of April (39) and could move level with leaders Arsenal should the Gunners slip up at home to Crystal Palace.

Tuesday's Champions League victory at Villarreal made it seven wins from nine matches (D2) in all competitions for City and central to their surge in form have been the superlative performances of striker Erling Haaland.

The 25-year-old's opening goal on Tuesday was the Norwegian's 24th in just 14 matches for club and country this season.

It followed a double in the 2-0 win against Everton last weekend, which took Haaland to 11 goals in just eight Premier League outings.

It is the third-fastest any Premier League player has reached double figures in a single season - and Haaland himself is responsible for the other two, doing so in five games in 2024-25 and six games in 2022-23.

His record stacks up against the best in Europe this season, while he has also been scoring regularly away from home.

City have scored seven Premier League away goals in total in 2025-26 and Haaland has scored five of those, including at least one in all four fixtures on the road so far.

Only Tottenham Hotspur have prevented Haaland from scoring in the Premier League so far this season and the next side attempting to emulate that feat are Villa.

They are enjoying a resurgent run of Premier League results following a difficult start to this campaign, with three successive wins domestically - although a much-changed line-up were upset by Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League on Thursday.

Should Unai Emery's side see off City, they will become just the second team in top-flight history to fail to win any of their opening five matches and then triumph in the subsequent four, after Preston in 1936.

Villa have won their past two home league games against City, their best run in this fixture at Villa Park since a sequence of five successive victories between 1960 and 1975 - but managing fatigue could be a factor following Thursday's trip to the Netherlands.

Emery must rely on a squad effort to fight on multiple fronts and Emi Buendia has underlined the importance of making an impact from the bench in recent weeks.

The attacking midfielder's winner at Tottenham last Sunday was his third goal in four matches – two of which have come as a substitute in the Premier League.

It continues a remarkable turnaround for Buendia - a £33m signing in June 2021 - in the West Midlands after missing the entirety of 2023-24 because of injury and spending the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

The 28-year-old started against Go Ahead Eagles in midweek, meaning he could return to a bench role on Sunday - a ploy that has worked well for Emery in recent weeks.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking ahead of Aston Villa's fixture against Manchester City and following the 2-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League, Unai Emery praised Harvey Elliott's attitude and work rate in training but admitted his performances have not yet reached the level required.

The Spaniard emphasised Elliott remains an important part of the squad, urging him to continue working hard to find his rhythm and confidence within Villa's tactical structure.

Emery said: "I am being very, very demanding myself to choose in each match the player to start and the players on the bench and the subs players, and firstly is always trying to get the best performance collectively, through individual players.

"Harvey is a 10 in our structure, in our shape, and he plays some matches, and there is still adaptation to add himself individually in our structure.

"Of course, he is training well, and his commitment is being very well as well, but his performance was not enough (up to this point).

"At the same time, we have other players who can play as 10, and they are performing well, and I have different players.

"This is the main reason he is not playing the last match but he has to continue working like he is doing in the training session, and of course getting his confidence in the performance."

Listen to Aston Villa v Manchester City on Sports Extra here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Aston Villa's shock Europa League defeat to Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles, following Emiliano Buendia's missed second-half penalty.

Here are some of your replies:

Prit: A very poor night for Villa, who were shockingly poor in front of goal. This game should have been done and dusted in the first half but, once again, we fell asleep in defence and they scored with their first chance. Too many players are off their game, it might be complacency but the attitude was also not there. Anyone can miss a penalty but, sorry Emi, that was a bad one. Is anyone coaching our players to take penalties? We've missed too many since we sold Douglas Luiz for PSR reasons.

Ian: A poor display. Villa should have been three goals up in the first half but the usual lack of firepower up front cost us. Emery needs to tell Watkins that he can run onto a ball, rather than expecting it to his feet all the time. A real disappointment after the recent improvement in form.

Andy: Get rid of Watkins, I've been saying it for over year. He was a one-year wonder.

Ryan: It's Europe, teams often fall to surprise defeats away from home. We lost against Club Brugge in the Champions League last season, and look at how that finished. It is a long season - lessons will be learned and we will continue to grow.

Adrian: Emery messing about (we can't call it 'tinkering', like Guardiola, because his works) with the starting XI is costing us. Why, after such a poor and messy start to the season, did he not pick his best XI and stick with it? We need to build momentum, confidence, understanding and familiarity. He underestimated the opposition again and it has backfired again.

Pammy: If you don't take your chances, you don't win football matches. Simples.

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Quite how Aston Villa lost this encounter from a position of such authority and on the back of a five-match winning run, in all competitions, will be a concern to Unai Emery.

For much of the first half the Spaniard watched his players fail to take advantage of opportunities to put the game beyond opponents who sit 12th in the Dutch top flight.

Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings all should have done better with gilt-edged chances and Villa's profligacy ultimately provided the hosts with enough encouragement to force their way back into the game.

Go Ahead Eagles had barely spent any time in Villa territory and the shot count was 12 to three in the visitors' favour when Mathis Suray equalised.

Alarmingly for Emery, once his team had relinquished control they were never able to reclaim it.

John McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen were all summoned from the bench, but aside from a cross from the England forward that hit the bar it did not translate into anything concrete.