Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Sunday’s Premier League game against Leeds United at Elland Road (kick-off 14:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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On team news: “The only player for Sunday to rule out is Tyrone Mings. Other players will train tomorrow, the last training session, and normally could be available. They [Ezri Kona, Matty Cash, and Amadou Onana] are training. Amadou is progressing well, and tomorrow we’ll see how he’s progressing.”
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Emery also took a moment to acknowledge the international achievements within his squad, singling out John McGinn after the midfielder achieved World Cup qualification with Scotland. The Spaniard highlighted how “important it is for him and them”, adding that he is “delighted” with how the international break unfolded for his players overall.
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On Ollie Watkins’ injury: “We are trying to get him to normal every day, with training, sometimes resting. Especially when an individual player has this small problem – and of course, he’s sometimes not feeling 100% fit to play – [it is important] to try to work intelligently… progressively trying to get him comfortable and with confidence to play, not feeling some pain, in good form and scoring goals.”
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Emery was also asked about the prospect of experiencing a derby against Birmingham City, in the context of the revealed plans for a new 62,000-capacity stadium in the city, but he was keen to steer the discussion back to the immediate priorities of his team. He reiterated his focus on “trying to build” towards Villa’s long-term objectives and internal progress rather than events involving their neighbours.
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On the trip to Leeds United: “We know it. How we are performing away is not in the balance, it is not in our balance. Of course, how we are competing and progressing has been really fantastic, but it’s not enough. And away is our challenge because in the five matches we played away we have only won against Tottenham.”
Follow all of Friday’s Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day’s football news
Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Leeds v Aston Villa at 14:00 on Sunday on BBC Sounds
