Aston Villa

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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has been speaking to TNT Sports: "We are always trying to be positive. In some matches, we are maybe not performing as we want but today we performed.

"We are feeling strong. Here we played the first-half very well. In the second-half, we kept possession more and were getting in the box to score the second goal.

"We imposed and dominated more."

On how he is dividing up game time between Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins: "We are in the process with the players keeping their consistency of playing.

"Jhon Duran played fantastic. Ollie Watkins is fantastic as well. It is very important for us. Of course you have to work with both strikers, sometimes they play together.

"I am very happy with them.

On Morgan Rogers' form: "He played fantastic. He is very important. We are getting the performance back through him because he links strikers with midfielders and wingers.

"He was fantastic in the second-half, connecting with strikers and scoring the goals. He has to add goals to his numbers, and today he was fantastic."

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Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers has been speaking to TNT Sports: "We knew it was going to be difficult. They have not had results, but we knew they were going to come firing. We knew we needed a reaction in the same way as they did.

"To a man, I thought we were outstanding and I think we deserved the win.

"I try to thrive in big games and I want to show what I'm about. It is nice to perform in the big games.

"Sometimes I will do the hard bit and then struggle to find that bit of quality and have that composure. This season, I have squandered a few chances that I would've liked to score."

On Manchester City's performance: "It felt tougher than it probably looked. They make you work and it is so demanding out of possession.

"We knew we had to be on it from start to finish. On the counter-attack, we were good and that is probably why we won the game."

On Unai Emery's influence: "Everyday he pushes me. He doesn't let me have a second off. He wants the best for me and that's perfect for me.

"We have a good working relationship. I'm not the only one he has improved. I want to keep going on that trajectory and see where it takes me."

On trying to build some momentum: "We had a run of tough games and we didn't play to the standard that we liked, and juggling the new competition [Champions League] was a new challenge."

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Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans has been speaking to BBC Sport about the victory: "We played really well, some really good football and defended when we needed to."

On his pass before the first goal: "I saw the space and just tried to pass it as good as I could, so I'm really happy about it.

"I was a bit freer in the role my manager asked me to play in. The fact we were on the ball more meant that we could play our game.

"It is always calculating the risk, if you want to stay on the ball and be brave. But we really deserved the win. We showed we can play good football."

On Manchester City's poor form: "I'm not here to make the headlines. They are a really good side and you have to be aware of their threat.

"They are on a bad run, I'm sure they will get out of it".

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Aston Villa have won consecutive home league games against Manchester City for the first time since April 1993. They have also defeated the reigning top-flight champions at home in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1975-76 (against Derby) and 1976-77 (against Liverpool).

Jhon Duran has now scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season. Only Jamal Musiala (9) has netted more goals in the big-five European leagues in 2024-25, among all players aged 21 or under.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Aston Villa's performance

What did you make of Man City's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are 10 Premier League teams in action on Saturday:

• Aston Villa v Manchester City (12:30)

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Ipswich v Newcastle

• West Ham v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Crystal Palace v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 17, he takes on Reverend & the Makers singer Jon McClure.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Aston Villa are 10 points worse off than the same stage of last season, when they were in second place with 35 points from 16 games.

This time, they are seventh and if you look at their results in the Premier League so far then, apart from when they saw off Fulham in October, they have only beaten teams in the bottom half of the table.

I don't want to call them flat-track bullies but they are only getting wins against the weaker teams.

Maybe we have to put Manchester City in that bracket too at the moment, though?

In terms of form over the past eight games then only Leicester and Southampton have picked up fewer points than Pep Guardiola's side.

I keep thinking they will kick back into life, but they actually seem to be getting worse. Everyone is trying to come up with the reason for their poor results - injuries or ageing players, and so on - but they are making basic errors in games and killing themselves.

The smart move for me and anyone else making predictions would be to just back City every week now, because eventually they will come good - but I've not seen anything to suggest it will happen here.

The only thing they won last weekend was 'The Simulation Game' on 606 thanks to Kyle Walker's behaviour against Manchester United. I just hope he is all right to play this weekend.

So, I am certainly not going to say they will win at Villa Park, or keep a clean sheet, but then Villa have not really convinced me to back them either.

McClure's prediction: 2-1

I can't see past Villa here - I don't know where City's next win is going to come from. Even Sheffield Wednesday [who McClure supports] would give them a game at the minute.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Tasnim Chowdhury
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester City (kick-off 12:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Emery said Tyrone Mings and Leon Bailey will be in the squad for Saturday while Jacob Ramsey is progressing well but is not yet ready for selection.

• He also praised "very good professional" Youri Tielemans, who could make his 200th Premier League appearance.

• On whether the Premier League is more difficult now than when he first came in 2018: "I arrived here two years ago and I was here before. It's always been very difficult."

• He is convinced his side are "trying to get better": "Tactically, emotionally, mentally, we are trying to get experiences - winning and sometimes losing. [We are] trying to be positive as well."

• On Saturday's game against opponents who are struggling: "It's a very tough and very exciting match. Playing Manchester City at home is great motivation for us. It is a very good test."

• On City's current form of eight defeats in 11 matches in all competitions, he said he is "surprised" but "it's football": "They have been the best team for the last years in the Premier League and now maybe they are not being consistent for different circumstances. But they are the best and the coach is the best."

• He also did not rule out City returning to the top of the table: "To be consistent like they are is difficult. They were successful over the last few years and being consistent in everything. They have time to be a winner again in this competition."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Former Aston Villa forward Garry Thompson told BBC Radio West Midlands how important it is to have a settled defence.

Aston Villa's three-match winning run came to an end after they conceded twice late on to lose 2-1 at Nottingham Forest.

"If you're going to do well you need a settled back four," he said. "You make the odd change here and there and obviously you need to give players minutes but you've got to have a settled back four and build from there.

"We've got the best goalkeeper in the world but the keeper needs to have confidence in his back four and the back four needs to have confidence in the keeper - it builds from there.

"We've got [Boubacar] Kamara who's playing ever so well now he's come back from injury, protecting the back four. We should be able to keep clean sheets."

On who should start up front, he added: "I know he's carrying a bit of an injury but I'd keep going with Ollie [Watkins] and then throw [Jhon] Duran on with 20 minutes to go."

Listen back on BBC Sounds

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Former Aston Villa midfielder Marc Albrighton told BBC Radio West Midlands that he would keep forward Jhon Duran in the starting lineup for the side's game against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Colombian took advantage of his second consecutive Premier League start against Nottingham Forest last weekend, scoring the side's only goal in a 2-1 defeat at the City Ground.

"He started at the weekend and he scored again. So I would stick with him up top, and have Watkins come on from the bench. But what a problem to have," said Albrighton.

"I'm a massive fan of Ollie Watkins. I think he offers so much more than goals, his work for the team, his link-up play, is a lot better than Jhon Duran's.

"But I feel like Duran has waited so long for this time, every time he's come in he's scored and he's done well."

Listen back to the full programme now on BBC Sounds

Will Jefford
BBC News, West Midlands

Image source, Aston Villa

Aston Villa have announced "transformational" plans to regenerate an area outside Villa Park, creating a new fan zone and a 3,500-seater events venue.

The Premier League club said the plans will include The Warehouse, a new multi-use venue set to become a "centrepiece of the matchday experience", along with a new ticket office, an improved plaza in the North Grounds, and an expanded footprint for the club shop.

Fans will get access to the new facilities at Christmas 2025, the club added.

Chris Heck, president of business operations, said the project will be "transformational" for fans.

According to the club, The Warehouse would become the biggest beer hall in the Premier League on match days but then turn into a 3,500-seater venue hosting concerts and events throughout the year.

Mr Heck said: "We want to create the best matchday experience possible in the Premier League, so we're giving our fans an open space to do what fans do best."

Read the full article here

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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"No, it is not the Champions League. It is the Premier League, it is the match today. We cannot speak about now [the] Champions League."

Unai Emery, the league's most polite manager, fleetingly sounded a little riled. In his defence, he had probably been asked the same question several times within minutes, and quite a few times before that this season.

It was not the Champions League in Nottingham on Saturday evening, but that was part of the point - for whatever reason, Villa's league form has been patchy since they entered Europe in September, and especially in the weekend fixtures immediately after games.

We should say that some of those have been difficult, but their only victory following a European game this season was over Wolves, and even that was a match where they only played effectively for the last half-hour, despite hardly needing to raise their rhythm to win in Bern.

It cannot be just the physical workload - Villa travelled just as many miles in the Conference League last campaign. The Champions League occasions come with more attention and fanfare, however, and some stronger opponents, which probably makes a difference.

Whatever the reason, it underlines the bonus it would be - not just in a financial sense - if Villa can pick up enough points from their last two games in January to go directly to the Champions League's last 16.

But the issue may just be the natural variation in Villa's own performance. "We played 70 minutes in the gameplan we planned, doing the things we needed... We have to try to keep being consistent - like we are being sometimes but not completely, like [on Saturday] for 20 minutes."

Nottingham Forest's performance, said Emery, was what his team were looking for. "The same idea as we have - try to be always compact and strong, and try to be resilient for 90 minutes. They did it. We have to try to learn as well something like they have."

It is not Villa's peak performance that they need to raise, it is their average.

The path to Villa's aspirations was always likely to be more jagged than we might have been lulled into thinking last season.

While sharing the short-term frustration, Emery talks like a man also taking the longer view, which shows Villa - potential European last-16 contenders and three points off fourth in the league - are still trending upwards.

Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Man City at 12:30 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio WM

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

Aston Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Stuttgart are interested in PAOK and Greece Under-21 international Stefanos Tzimas, with the 18-year-old forward impressing on loan at Nurnberg. (ESPN), external

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

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Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez has been named the Best Fifa Men's Goalkeeper for the second time in three years.

Argentina's World Cup winner, who also claimed the award in 2022, has been named the best goalkeeper of 2024.

Martinez beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Andriy Lunin, Mike Maignan, David Raya and Unai Simon to the award.

The 32-year-old also won the Yashin Trophy at this year's Ballon d'Or awards.

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Aston Villa have announced their FA Cup fixture with West Ham on Friday, 10 January will be their dedicated match for the club's 150th anniversary.

The club have announced there will be a "pre-match experience like no other" and supporters will be able to enjoy "exclusive promotions on food, drink and retail".

A number of former players have helped organise the anniversary match, in a group called the AV150 Honorary Board and Villa's President of Business Operations Chris Heck, said: "This milestone match will be a proud and memorial occasion for everyone connected to the club.

"Under the lights of Villa Park, we look forward to sharing what promises to be a truly special evening in the FA Cup with our supporters and the entire Villa family."

David Michael
Fan writer

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At the moment, it is hard to fully trust this Aston Villa team.

While some fans could pacify themselves with the 'whataboutery' of other teams' patchy Premier League form, this season presented a golden opportunity for Villa to cement themselves in the top four. Too often, though, games have slipped away from winning positions - the late collapse at Nottingham Forest being the most recent example.

Considering Villa were second only to Manchester City in the 2023 calendar year for results, they should have been better placed to capitalise on the defending champions' uncharacteristic slump in form, rather than mirroring it.

On a brighter note, the result in Leipzig was a massive boost for Villa's season. They showed both examples of their true potential, alongside the lapses that continue to frustrate.

Crucially, the win means that three points from their remaining two Champions League games would see them well positioned to finish in the competition's top eight and skip the unwanted play-offs round.

The importance of skipping the extra knockout round cannot be over-estimated. Dropping out at that stage earns a team an extra 1m euros, while progressing to the last 16 earns them 11m euros. The 10m euros difference is the most significant jump in prize money between rounds in the tournament - and makes finishing the job against Monaco and Celtic pivotal.

Beyond the financial stakes, finishing in the top eight would give Unai Emery a vital extra month (February) off from the tournament.

With time to tweak and, crucially, to cut out the mistakes that have undermined them in recent months, Villa could rediscover the form that made them so formidable in 2023.

Do that, and they could finish the season strongly, become a team you can trust again, and one that might even emerge as a dark horse on the European stage.

Find more from David Michael at My Old Man Said, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans:

Stu: Forest rode their luck with the penalty shout and the tackle on Matty Cash but at the end of the day we wanted it more and probably deserved it overall. Villa are not playing their best football but were still competitive to the end and after an extra game and travelling in mid-week I think they can be proud of the performance.

Marcus: We proved we're not just a flash in the pan. After a marginal disallowed goal, we dug deep and came of age. Respect to Villa, got an edge-of-your-seat game.

Charlie: Just like the old music halls, it's not over until the fat lady sings. Despite being down to a very good Villa goal and the wrong side of a close VAR call, the whole team battled on to the very end to the joy of a rocking City Ground. The Reds took some knocks - Ryan Yates and Murrillo - but the team fought on with a man-of-the-match performance from Elliot Anderson who is cementing his position with every game. Good to see the attacking confidence of Nuno Espirito Santo, as he brought on Anthony Elanga who vindicated his manager's substitution.

Jay: Really encouraging win. Shows a new character to Forest too. The last time we scored a late winner was early last season against Sheffield United, and you'd have to go back to our promotion season to find a comeback as late as the one we just witnessed. If we want to keep hopes of a European place alive, we need teams to constantly fear a Forest ascendancy. Momentum, momentum, momentum!

Villa fans:

Cassie: Fair play to Forest, they wanted the ball more than Villa, wanted to win the game and showed more determination and passion. Why do Villa players sit back after they go one goal up? Emery needs to bring in two or three players in January, and yes, he has to let some players leave the club. We are so inconsistent - another Champions League hangover.

Jack: Villa played terribly towards the end. A couple of terrible decisions ended up losing us the game, when we should have had a win, albeit a poor win. Jhon Duran is making a clear case ahead of Ollie Watkins. It was a great save from Emi Martinez but then a mistake later on cost us.

Marty: Usual lacklustre display after a European expedition. Plus the truncated play from defence is fast becoming outdated (you watch Chelsea/Liverpool play out) and puts too much pressure on our midfield with zero threat in attack. Overall we're in a happy place but some January signings are going to be key. And by the way, well done Forest!

Carlos: Poor game management again as Villa failed to at least keep a point for a draw. There were two really big decisions against us with a clear pull on Rogers for a penalty and a clear foul by Anderson on Cash leading to their winner. Strange substitutions too. Cash was shattered and should have come off, whereas Boubacar Kamara was outstanding and holding it all together.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 2-2 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa