As tends to be the case with Unai Emery in the Europa League, his team are coming into form at exactly the right time. An often laborious 2026 for Aston Villa has suddenly enjoyed release. Working on limited resources relative to the top of the Premier League, Emery has got it close to spot on. Villa are suddenly flying just before their biggest game in 44 years.
They thrashed Nottingham Forest to get to this Europa League final against Freiburg and then put in one of the performances of the season in shredding Liverpool, scoring four goals in each game.
