Ahmed Elmohamady: Knockout stage for Aston Villa at the bottom
Ahmed Elmohamady admits Villa have now reached the knockout stage in their bid for Premier League survival.
After Sunday’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace kept alive hopes of escaping the drop, Villa now head to Everton on Thursday.
Dean Smith’s team sit four points adrift of safety with just three matches to play and Elmohamady concedes only wins will suffice from here.
He said: “There is always pressure when you are in the relegation zone. You have to fight.
“This is like our World Cup now, with a quarter-final, semi-final and final over the last three games. It is going to be massive for us. We have to win the three games.
“In the final three games you have to win. There is no other option. We will go to Everton with the same aim we had on Sunday, trying to keep a clean sheet and getting three points.”
Villa can close within a point of Watford and West Ham, who play each other on Friday, with victory at Goodison Park. Smith’s men had fallen seven points off the pace after both rivals won on Saturday.
Elmohamady continued: “Before Sunday’s game we knew it was massive with the results the day before. We just had to get the three points. It was quality from everyone in terms of mentality. Now we have to recover and go again. We’ve got another cup final on Thursday.”
Villa have injury concerns over Kortney Hause (groin) and Neil Taylor (hamstring). Hause missed Sunday’s match after going down in the warm-up, while Taylor went off in the first half.
