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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Karen Carney

Aston Villa’s rise under Unai Emery is no fluke – they are third on merit

Unai Emery Villa Aston Villa Ollie Watkins Arsenal Football Moussa Diaby Pau Torres Birmingham City Manchester United
‘It pains me to say it as a Birmingham City fan but they have a team playing really good football.’
‘It pains me to say it as a Birmingham City fan but they have a team playing really good football.’ Photograph: Andrew Kearns/CameraSport/Getty Images

Often when managers arrive at a struggling club the immediate response is a complete overhaul in a desperate attempt to turn things around, but in Unai Emery’s 14 months at Aston Villa he has transformed them from relegation candidates to Champions League hopefuls without any such tear-up.

When the Spaniard arrived from Villarreal Aston Villa were 16th in the Premier League and a point above the relegation zone. On Friday night he has a chance to take them top when they host Sheffield United, a match they will be expected to win.

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