Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Sunday in the race for Champions League qualification.
Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Sunday
Manchester United welcome Aston Villa to Old Trafford on Sunday(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery believes Manchester United's interim boss Michael Carrick is doing a fantastic job since returning to Old Trafford. Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January and went on a four-game winning run before dropping points at West Ham. Victories over Everton and Crystal Palace followed before Carrick lost his first match at Newcastle.
Despite the defeat, United remain third in the Premier League with Champions League qualification in their own hands. Should they beat Emery's Villa, the Reds will be three points clear of them and in the ascendency heading into the final few weeks of the season.
Reflecting on Carrick's performance so far, Emery praised United's turnaround. He said: "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 more points and having more confidence."
For Villa, it is just one win in their last six Premier League matches but Emery's side will arrive in Manchester confident after victory over Lille in the Europa League on Thursday night.
"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," Emery continued. "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 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."
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