Unai Emery looked ahead to the visit of **Man United**at Villa Park this weekend.
The two teams are level on 51 points in the Premier League after midweek defeats to Chelsea(4-1) and Newcastle United (2-1), but the Red Devils are ahead on goal difference, sitting in third place.
Emery has encountered Michael Carrick before in his coaching career, and he expressed admiration for the job that he is doing at Old Trafford. However, the Basque believes his men must find a way to return to winning ways, and they will aim to try the feelings of fans at their ground to their advantage.
“We are going to face Manchester United on Sunday, and they are now feeling confident, they’re strong at home, they’re playing good football and they have very good players. It’s a really huge challenge on Sunday, but analysing how we are in the table overall, we are fourth with the same points as Manchester United with 51 and they are third.
*“Sunday is day 30 and there are still points to play for, a lot of points to play for. There are still matches to play, and we are so, so motivated in the two competitions we are fighting in. The result yesterday [at **Lille*] was fantastic and gave us confidence but how we achieved it was important for us because I think we played a good match. The level we are going to face on Sunday is a high level.
*“Each coach has their personality and their career. Carrick is really performing fantastically. The first experience we had against each other was playing in the Champions League, Manchester United against Villarreal five years ago.*
“At Middlesbrough he did a fantastic job, and now he’s done a fantastic job in the matches he’s there. You can see them playing comfortably, playing like they are with good players. Tactically they have good positioning, and I think Carrick is doing a very good job. He has experience, he knows everything there, and they are progressing in the table, getting points and having more confidence.
*“[The fans] are very important, and they are travelling with us in Europe and in the Premier League.*
*“It’s very important how we are feeling with them. In Europe, as well, they are motivated and excited, like how they were following us in Lille. We need them, clearly, and the players thanked them yesterday, thanked them through the season, and hopefully we will feel them on Sunday.”*