Since Emery joined Aston Villa, they won back-to-back Premier League matches against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Aston Villa take on Villarreal in a mid-season friendly on Thursday as domestic football is nearing its return following the unusual winter World Cup break. The contest at Villa Park will see Unai Emery facing his former club. He had left the Yellow Submarine to take over the Villa job following the departure of Steven Gerrard. There has been an immediate response by Aston Villa since the appointment of Emery. With all the clubs now having a winter break, Emery and his coaches can use this opportunity to get his methods across to the players.
Since Emery joined Aston Villa, they won back-to-back Premier League matches against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion. It has helped them to move 12th in the standings with 18 points from 15 games. Following mixed performances in mid-season friendlies, Villa won their last game against Chelsea. On the other hand, Villarreal started life without Emery by appointing Barcelona boss Quique Setien as their manager. They are ninth in La Liga standings with 21 points from 14 games. Villarreal won their last friendly match against Galatasaray 4-3.
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Aston Villa have seen some of their World Cup stars return back to training like Matty Cash, Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek. However, they still have to make do without goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who is set to represent Argentina in the World Cup final. Besides, they will miss the injured Diego Carlos, Jacob Ramsey, Philippe Coutinho, Emiliano Buendia and Jed Steer for this contest. Meanwhile, Villarreal will miss Juan Foyth and Geronimo Rulli due to their World Cup involvements. However, they could see Pau Torres being involved in this clash.
Aston Villa possible line-up: Olsen, Young, Konsa, Mings, Digne, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn, Raikhy, Bailey, Ings
Villarreal possible line-up: Reina, Fermina, Albiol, Mandi, Mojica, Coquelin, Morlanes, Parejo, Chukwueze, Baena, Moreno
Aston Villa
| Opponents | Score |
| Chelsea | 0-1 (W) |
| Brighton | 2-2 |
| Cardiff | 3-1 (L) |
| Brighton | 1-2 (W) |
| Manchester United | 4-2 (L) |
Villarreal
| Opponents | Score |
| Galatasaray | 3-4 (W) |
| Fenerbahce | 2-1 (L) |
| Santa Amalia | 0-9 (W) |
| Espanyol | 0-1 (W) |
| Mallorca | 0-2 (L) |
The club friendly between Aston Villa and Villarreal will take place at Villa Park on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
The club friendly between Aston Villa and Villarreal can be seen on VillaTV. Visit the official website for more details.
