Premier League: Emery Insists Fulham Comes Before Barcelona Clash

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has insisted that his side must focus entirely on Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Fulham rather than look ahead to next week’s Champions League encounter against Barcelona.

Villa will be aiming for a third consecutive league victory when they host Fulham at Villa Park before travelling to Spain for their European fixture against the Spanish champions.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Emery warned that thinking about Barcelona before facing Fulham would be a mistake.

“If I am thinking, if we are thinking, after the match tomorrow against Fulham, we are making a mistake, and we are wrong, completely wrong,” the Spaniard said.

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“So, tomorrow, Fulham, prioritising Premier League clearly, and this is the message.”

Emery also stressed the importance of consistency and maintaining the commitment that helped Villa compete among the Premier League’s leading sides last season.

“To keep our consistency, to keep our demands and work every day. To get this commitment to keep our consistency like we did last year. Each match is a test,” he added.

The Villa manager acknowledged that his team still needed to collect more league points despite showing signs of improvement.

“In the Premier League, we lack points. Of course, we are progressing, we are getting better. But, if we want to be consistent like last year and in the top positions, we must focus on tomorrow’s match, prioritising 100 percent and focusing, respecting them (Fulham),” he said.

Villa head into the encounter following a 2-1 victory over Manchester City, ending the league leaders’ perfect start to the season.

The Birmingham side are ninth in the Premier League standings, three points ahead of Fulham, as they look to continue their recent improvement.