'Can't relax' - Unai Emery gives Aston Villa warning ahead of Viking test

Unai Emery has warned Villa they cannot afford any slip-ups in their pursuit of a top-eight Champions League spot.

Villa host Viking on Wednesday night looking to continue their perfect start to this season’s competition.

Emery’s men head into the match against their Norwegian visitors as huge favourites, having last week recorded the club’s biggest-ever European win by putting six past Fenerbahce.

But the boss believes Viking, who drew 3-3 at home to Bayern Munich on the same night, are not to be under-estimated and has urged his players not to get complacent.

Victory would put Villa well placed to push on and claim a top-eight league phase finish and automatic qualification for the last-16, just as they did two seasons ago.

But Emery reckons the task will be harder this time around, due to Europe’s top clubs now being aware of the potential pitfalls should they miss out and have to play the extra play-off round.

He said: “The message is respect. Respect the competition, respect Europe and the difficulty of getting to the position we are now. To keep it for the next matches.

“To be in the top-eight we are not favourites, indeed we are not contenders.

“But in case we are getting points, like we did, we can have our opportunity to be there.

“The last two years we achieved it in the Champions League and Europa League.

“But now a lot of teams, the favourites, they are trying to avoid the mistake they made two years ago.

“One example back then, because they weren’t in the top-eight, Manchester City played Real Madrid and one of those went out.

“This is the importance for them and for us as well to try and be in the top-eight.

“Tomorrow we have a very good opportunity to try to play, to try to compete, to try to win and improve our position.”

Villa have won 19 out of 21 home matches since returning to European competition under Emery, a run which includes memorable victories over Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain.

They also boast a 100 per cent record against Norwegian opponents having recorded a 6-2 aggregate win over Stromgodset in the 1998-99 Uefa Cup.

Yet that tie was not so straightforward as the final scoreline suggests, with Villa having trailed 2-0 until a late comeback in the first home leg.

More recently Bodo/Glimt, the team Viking beat to last season’s Norwegian title, knocked Inter Milan out of the Champions League over two legs.

“In the Champions League we are performing well and getting good results but tomorrow we can’t relax in anything,” declared Emery.

“We must be organised and so, so focused and involved in how we need to improve things.

“We can’t forget we won last week against Fenerbahce at home but we were not winning before.

“Tomorrow we must try to be aware of the difficulty of the match. In 90 minutes we must get our best performance and attitude.

“They (Viking) are with Bodo/Glimt at the top of the league. Bodo is a successful team in Europe, performing well and getting good results and beating important teams.

“Viking is a new team as well, with the capacity to draw against Bayern. They competed against Stuttgart too.

“This is the Champions League, and we have six points, which is amazing. Keeping the same way we are in is the challenge.”