Erik ten Hag claimed that Unai Emery's first game in charge of Aston Villa caught Manchester United off guard when they were the losers. On November 6, United lost 3-1 to Villa Park, a setback that seemed disheartening at the time, but Emery has done fantastic job with Villa ever since.
Villa moved up from 16th and a possible relegation battle to sixth and the chance of a spot in Europe under the Spanish manager, who has won 13 of his 22 games in charge.
Prior to Sunday's rematch at Old Trafford, they trail United by six points, despite Ten Hag's team having two games in hand. In 10 Premier League games, Villa is unbeaten and has won eight of them.
Unai Emery's impact was seen right away, and he immediately caused United problems, but Ten Hag thought his team had already demonstrated its adaptability by eliminating United from the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford a few days after the defeat at Villa Park.
"We met him the first game and he surprised us," Ten Hag said of Emery. "We were low energy levels so we have to avoid that, but he surprised us with the system. Three days after we learnt a lot from that game and we bounced back and had a good win over them."
This weekend's game should be another tough one, but Ten Hag is certain that his team can win if they play their best.
"Sunday will be a tough game, we’re totally aware of it," he said. "This team made good progression, but it’s up to us, if we’re ready for the game, we have the right energy levels, with the right focus, at Old Trafford with the fans behind, then we know we have a good chance to win this game because we know we are very strong."
Unai Emery, as well anticipates a drastically different game on Sunday compared to their other two encounters with Manchester United this year.
Villa's first opponent following selecting Emery to succeed Steven Gerrard in late October was United. The home team triumphed 3-1 at Villa Park in the rematch thanks to the new manager's boost. Four days later, the two teams met again in the third round of the Carabao Cup, and Erik ten Hag and company got their comeuppance at Old Trafford by twice coming from behind to win 4-2.
Villa's return to Manchester comes after a gap of five and a half months, and Emery anticipates another tough test as the squad works to qualify for European competition for the upcoming season.
"Very good, very good players," Emery replied when asked about United at a pre-match press conference, as relayed by Birmingham Live. "They are in the top four. United are usually there. They won the Carabao Cup, a trophy, and they will play in the final with the FA Cup. It’s a very good season for them.
"For us, it’s a good challenge. It’s a very different match compared to when I arrived here. Very different from the Carabao Cup when we lost there 4-2. It’ll be very difficult. We can face them and be very demanding. If we are doing it, we can have chances to take it.
Emery also admitted to watching and enjoying several United matches as a supporter rather than for analysis reasons lately. "They played against Sevilla. Played very well at home. But when you’re playing knock-out matches it is difficult," the Villa boss added.
"I watched the semi-final against Brighton, a good match. It was an amazing match yesterday vs Spurs. Both teams were offensive. In the end, it was a draw. More than analysing matches, I enjoyed it more as a supporter."
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