Aston Villa

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against Young Boys at Villa Park (17:45 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Emery provided a fitness update on his squad: "The only player out is Tyrone Mings. The other players are in the squad for tomorrow. We will have a meeting in the morning and analyse each individual situation about us and the opponent. We will decide [who plays] through it."

• Amadou Onana and Andres Garcia have trained and are available for the visit of Young Boys.

• Asked if Harvey Elliott has a future at Villa, Emery said: "We now have a lot of matches. We must focus on each match with the players we have now. We are not thinking about the transfer window in January. He is one of our players and hopefully he can help us. Then, we are going to decide."

• What can Elliott do to feature more?: "Firstly, there are other players performing very well. This is the first argument of why he is not playing. He is training very well every day."

• On the recent improvement in results: "It's everything. The good results come with confidence and how we react inside. In the moment we were not performing well and were not together. It starts with me, and the players following and sharing the message."

• Emery said European competition helped after a difficult start in the Premier League: "We used the Europa League as a key moment to react, to get momentum with the results. Everything we changed we did collectively."

• The manager said Donyell Malen's fine form has come because he is "very motivated" and "playing like he's training". Emery added: "Everything he's achieving now you can see it before in the training session. He is helping the team in the structure we have, tactically to do our tasks. He is very important for us."

• On his side's resilience, Emery said: "You have to feel it, when you are struggling you have to be resilient. We still have work to do building the team, some players joining us need more time and some are not playing, they need to feel comfortable with us. But we are getting results through the commitment of the players."

Hear more from Emery on BBC Sounds

Follow all of Wednesday's European news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott can be forgiven for wondering if they made the right decision to join Aston Villa.

A loan move was the chance for Sancho to reignite a stuttering career with his future at Manchester United over.

Sancho's contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season, signalling he is likely to have played his last game for United, but his time at Villa has so far failed to fire.

He has just 168 Premier League minutes this season, following his 22-minute cameo in the 2-1 win at Leeds United on Sunday, having started two Europa League games and once in the Carabao Cup.

Thursday's visit of Young Boys in the Europa League represents a chance for another start, but the 25-year-old's career is now drifting.

Elliott arrived on loan from Liverpool, with an obligation to buy for £35m, having been named player of the tournament as England Under-21s won Euro 2025.

He has not played in the Premier League for over two months and when he did make his only start - against Fulham in September - he was hauled off at half-time.

The midfielder has not been included in Villa's past four Premier League squads and 18-year-old academy prospect George Hemmings was on the bench at Leeds ahead of him.

The deal will, reportedly, be made permanent if Elliott makes 10 appearances so the question would be why he or the club would want to commit to a move which does not look like it is working.

Having played five times for Villa and twice for Liverpool this season, the only avenue elsewhere for Elliott would be to move to an overlapping league - which starts later - like the MLS, which would allow him to represent three clubs in one campaign.

He would have no option to play for another Premier League or European side this term.

But both loan deals - United sources say 80% of Sancho's wages will be covered by Villa, while also included are easily achievable bonuses that would take the total up to 100%. - are looking like expensive mistakes for everyone.

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

"I've tried a bit in training, probably not as much as I should…" said Morgan Rogers after his free-kick left Leeds frozen like a spot-the-ball photograph. "Coach Austin [McPhee]'s always banging on at me to try more, to keep doing it after training so yeah, I'm gonna keep going."

Good grief. Imagine how good he will be when he really gets the hang of it.

That's nine wins from 11 now putting Aston Villa in a Champions League qualifying place and into a top-eight slot in the Europa League table, on course for their overall targets for this season.

During the early weeks of the campaign, the results maybe lagged a little behind some of the performances. Now it is the other way round - a positive sign.

While winning, Villa collectively seem to be working towards something this season rather than already being at their full potential. The thrashing of Bournemouth excepted, it still feels like there is more to add. Like Rogers, imagine how good they will all be when they really get the hang of it.

Unai Emery seldom talks of his team reaching a standard, but rather as if they are on some eternal journey of progression.

"Last month we achieved very good wins against Tottenham, Manchester City and Bournemouth," he said on Sunday. "But how we were coming back after the break was our challenge before the match and how the players were again getting our standard higher than at the beginning of the season."

Onwards, to two fixtures which on all known evidence appear among the least taxing of the season. Villa played the Swiss side Young Boys last year in the Champions League and, after adjusting to the artificial pitch in Bern, won comfortably. Sunday against Wolves may be a derby, but one against opponents at their lowest ebb in years.

Both matches look straightforward, but so did the Go Ahead Eagles game, one of Villa's few recent mishaps. The memory of Emery's face at the end of that match ought to be motivation enough for the players to avoid tripping up again.

Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Young Boys at 17:45 GMT on Thursday on BBC Radio WM's FM frequencies.

And tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Explore Aston Villa content on BBC Sounds

Everton boss David Moyes wants to hang on to English midfielder James Garner amid interest from Aston Villa, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in the 24-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Talksport)

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Hannah Gowen
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Five games into the Premier League season, Aston Villa sat in the relegation places with just three points on the board, having scored just one goal and failing to win any of their opening fixtures. Cut to the end of game week twelve, Villa have entered the top four, rising to the Champions League qualification spots after a gritty win against Leeds United.

This rejuvenation of form has consisted of a variety of results - big wins against Champions League rivals, narrow victories over relegation candidates, and a couple of disappointing losses on the road. One crucial thing that Unai Emery has managed to implement at Villa is the ability to win games even when performances have been suboptimal.

In years gone by, many an Aston Villa side would have capitulated at a raucous away game against a newly promoted side. Yet, a moment of quality from Morgan Rogers on Sunday made Villa just the second team to take all three points at Elland Road in around 25 games.

The start of the season may have been disappointing, but the league position now reflects a resilience in the Villa camp. At a time when Villa's only dedicated striker is suffering from a goal drought, and the club are ranking near bottom for several creative stats, the team has stepped up and conjured goals from across the park, including an influx from outside the penalty area.

Winning in the Premier League is always difficult, and Villa have certainly had their fair share of tricky moments already this season, but Emery and his team are finding ways to do it. Sometimes it is more clinical and polished than others. Other times, it takes one moment of class and the ability to weather the storm in order to pick up points.

While Villa continue to churn out results, in one way or another, they seem to be going under the radar, quietly creeping up the table.

Find more from Hannah Gowen at UTV, external

Match of the Day pundit and former England goalkeeper Joe Hart looks at the free-kick style of Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.

Watch Match of the Day highlights from Sunday's victory here

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

Here are some of your comments:

Leeds fans

Luke: Started the game well with a high tempo and looked good for a while, but we just can't seem to see the games out and lose from a winning start.

David: As usual, Farke waits until we go a goal down before making his same substitutions - like he does every single game. Villa saw what was wrong at half-time and brought on subs, which changed the game. Farke just can't or won't do that. Time for a change.

Ewan: Abysmal. Destined for relegation again. The Yorkshire yo-yo team. Too much to try to dissect, but ultimately, the recruitment has been poor, and we're not operating at a level to be competitive in the top flight. Big January window ahead to give ourselves any chance of survival. Farke out.

Paul: Sadly, Leeds are tactically naive and lacking the firepower to survive - Elland Road is no longer a fortress, so unless there are changes, it will be a short-lived visit to the Premier League.

Villa fans

Rich: Watkins was poor again. Malen shows he is a viable alternative, but isn't being given enough chances. Rogers scored good goals, but half asleep giving the free-kick away for the Leeds goal. I'm really not sure how we are fourth in the table.

Jamie: A very good three points after crawling back from being a goal behind. Our fans will remember the times when conceding the first goal always resulted in a loss. But Emery has instilled confidence and calmness into the squad that makes that a thing of the past. Malen changed the game, and Rogers was superb.

Brian: Tale of two halves Rogers finally showed his class, but subs at half-time made a big difference.

Richard: Playing Leeds away is always a tough game. Their home record speaks for itself. Villa stuck to their task, and after a couple of tactical changes at half-time, Villa never looked back. So glad Rodgers signed a new deal. Pure class.

Pundits Danny Murphy and Joe Hart and join host Gabby Logan 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:

• Leeds 1-2 Aston Villa

• Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery to BBC Match of the Day: "Leeds United, eh? First half, we struggled; they deserved the first half. We weren't dominating and competing like we did in the second half. Leeds were playing fantastically. Second half, we changed some things. They tired in the second half, and we dominated the ball more. We scored quick and that helped us a lot.

"It was key to equalise the match, and then it continued. We had chances to get the second goal, and we did. Then they had some chances. We are happy because this match was a challenge. I am so, so happy for the players.

"We are trying to set as high a standard as possible. My players were fantastic.

"Every team in the Premier League has great players and coaches. We must be consistent. We must be strong. Tactically, it is very important, and individually we have to show our quality."

On Morgan Rogers: "He was playing fantastic. Today, scoring his goal was brilliant. I try to get of him his qualities and make him feel comfortable in our structures. On the left, in the middle and as a striker. He is so, so competitive player. Always he accepts everything we are trying to do with him."

• Hear more from Emery on BBC Sounds

Midfielder Morgan Rogers speaking to BBC's Match of the Day: "It's a difficult place to come. They're really strong at home. They played really well, with a high intensity. We had to dig in, we had to dig deep. Luckily, we managed to find two goals in the second half to win the game, which is the most important thing."

"Of course, we want to play better with pretty football, but you can't always do that in the Premier League. Different teams pose different problems. We were really good with grit and determination, and we got the win."

On Villa's second-half improvement: "We played a lot quicker with more intensity and tried to hurt them more. In the first half, we didn't really cause that many problems, but in the second half, we definitely did. We played a lot quicker and a lot more forward.

"That definitely helps, but normally it's about our heart and our spirit to win. Competing in battles, competing in duels, keep running, keep working. It was a difficult win; they pushed us right to the limit."

On his goals: "I'm really happy. There have been a few goals I haven't quite got in other games so it was nice to get on the score sheet. But if I don't score, it's okay as long as we get the win.

"The manager's always banging on at me to get into the box. That's where the goals are scored. Sometimes I'm hesitant to go in. I went in and just kind of reacted to the ball. I'm lucky I could get a toe on it. I was really happy with that one.

"Straight out of halftime, we had the energy. The crowd was up, and everything was going well. It was a good time to score."

• Hear more from Rogers on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Aston Villa have won each of their last six league games that have been played on a Sunday, one more than across their prior 21 combined (D7 L9), whilst it's also their longest winning run on this day in club history.

• Since his Premier League debut in February 2024, only Cole Palmer (44) and Bukayo Saka (28) have been involved in more goals in the competition aged 23 and under than Aston Villa's Mogan Rogers (27 - 14 goals, 13 assists), with today the first time he's scored more than once in a top-flight game.

Emma Smith at Elland Road
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Not since former England manager Gareth Southgate in January 2000 has an Aston Villa player scored a Premier League brace at Elland Road.

Now it is the turn of a current England star, as Morgan Rogers provided the spark for Villa to come from behind at Leeds.

Goals aside, Rogers was the outstanding attacking player for Villa here. His movement and direct running provided more threat than the below-par Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins.

And it will provide a reminder to current England boss Thomas Tuchel as to his abilities ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Since his Premier League debut in February 2024, only Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka have been involved in more goals in the competition while aged 23 and under than Rogers.

And this was the first time he has scored more than once in a top flight game - a reminder of his strength among the English number 10 candidates.

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

Have your say on Leeds United's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Leeds manager Daniel Farke makes just one change from the starting XI in the 3-1 loss at Nottingham Forest before the international break.

Centre-back Jaka Bijol drops to the bench, with Pascal Struijk partnering Joe Rodon at the back.

Leeds starting XI: Perri; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Ampadu; Aaronson, Longstaff, Stach Okafor; Nmecha

Subs: Darlow, James, Calvert-Lewin, Piroe, Bijol, Tanaka, Justin, Gnonto, Gruev

There is also one change to the Villa team, with Youri Tielemans replacing the injured Amadou Onana in midfield.

Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash both passed fitness tests, while Morgan Rogers has recovered from a "hamstring niggle" picked up on England duty.

Aston Villa starting XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins

Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Barkley, Malen, Sancho, Maatsen, Bogarde, Guessand, Hemmings

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

• Leeds United v Aston Villa (14:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

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

Kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction from Elland Road here

Keep across everything from Emirates Stadium over here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Leeds v Aston Villa" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Arsenal v Tottenham".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Leeds have been strong at home for a long time now, and they have picked up eight of their 11 points so far at Elland Road.

But this still feels like a massive game for them, because although they have made a reasonable start to the season, there are still some Leeds fans who are not sure about manager Daniel Farke.

If they lose at home to Aston Villa, albeit an in-form and improving Villa, then it could start to turn ugly for Farke if they fall into the relegation places.

So Farke needs something here and it won't be easy because Villa have the quality to hurt them, and they have got a bit of momentum too.

Unai Emery's side have won eight of their past 10 matches in all competitions, and one of the games they lost was against Liverpool when they actually deserved something from it.

I don't think Villa will lose this, and a draw would be a good result for Leeds.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

In-form Aston Villa take on a Leeds side who have lost four of their past five games. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Sunday's match.

Leeds return to Elland Road after back-to-back losses at Brighton and Nottingham Forest, having conceded three goals in each defeat. Under-pressure boss Daniel Farke told BBC Radio 5 Live this week that it has probably been his side's "poorest period of the season" , adding the Whites "have to show a bit of a reaction".

But the German manager also asked fans to see the bigger picture, telling Sky Sports "after we beat West Ham, people said survival was confirmed and now everyone is panicking about relegation".

This is the first game in a testing run of fixtures for Farke's team, with next weekend's trip to Manchester City followed by home matches against Chelsea and Liverpool.

Leeds have struggled away from home this term, claiming their only points in a 3-1 win at bottom side Wolves, but have lost just once at Elland Road.

However, goalscoring remains a major concern. Their tally of 10 goals is the joint-second lowest in the Premier League after 11 games, with poor finishing regularly letting them down.

They have converted just five of 22 'big chances', as classified by Opta, equivalent to 22.7%. The only Premier League side with a worse record this season are opponents Aston Villa.

Is Villa's resurgence sustainable?

Aston Villa failed to win any of their opening five league fixtures but have five victories in their subsequent six games, including a 4-0 triumph against Bournemouth last time out.

Manager Unai Emery hailed that performance as "really fantastic", praising his side's commitment, energy and connection with the home supporters.

A key feature of Villa's improvement has been goals from distance. Three of the goals against the Cherries came from outside the penalty area, taking their overall total to seven, the highest total in the Premier League.

The Villans also boast the league's highest shot conversion rate from outside the box (15.6%), a stark contrast to their figure of 8.1% for efforts inside the area, which is the lowest in the top flight.

While Villa's long-range purple patch has fuelled their revival, if it is to be sustainable they will need to create higher-quality chances closer to goal. Emery's side have managed 20 shots on target from inside the box this term, fewer than any other side.

That includes only four from Ollie Watkins, who scored 16 league goals last season but has netted just once so far.

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League will from next season move to a new system of Financial Fair Play (FFP) based on squad costs.

The clubs met in London on Friday to vote on three possible methods of replacing Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) got 14 votes in favour and six against, which is the minimum number that is required to exact a rule change.

Overall squad costs from next season will have to be limited to 85% of a club's revenue, although teams competing in Europe will have to adhere to Uefa's maximum of 70%.

Squad costs comprise player and manager wages, transfer fees and agents' fees.

Rules around sustainability, which set out a club's financial spending plans over the medium and long term, were passed unanimously.

Read more about the news and what it means here

Tasnim Chowdhury
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League has announced the start and end dates for the 2026-27 season.

The first round of fixtures will take place across the weekend of 22 August 2026 - a week later than previous seasons.

The later start allows rest time for players - 89 clear days from the end of this season, and 33 days from the 2026 World Cup final.

The Premier League said the delay was a "priority" for player welfare in an "increasingly congested global football calendar".

The final matches of the season will be played on Sunday, 30 May 2027, with all fixtures kicking off simultaneously as usual.

The season will end a week before the 2027 Champions League final, which will be on Saturday, 5 June.

There will be 33 weekend and five midweek fixtures - the same as the current season.

For the festive period, the Premier League have said no two match rounds will take place within 60 hours.

It has not been confirmed if there will be any fixtures on 24 December 2026.

However, as Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the Premier League has said there will be more matches scheduled than this season, when there is only one.

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

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:

• 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."

• 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.

• 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."

• 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.

• 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."

Hear more from Emery on BBC Sounds

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

English attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, is the subject of interest from Bundesliga and Serie A clubs, with parent club Liverpool willing to sell the 22-year-old at a reduced price. (Football Insider, external)

Inter Milan are interested in signing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, with Aston Villa ready to listen to offers for the 33-year-old. (Football Insider, external)

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport