Unai Emery issues warning to Aston Villa players ahead of Chelsea clash

The visitors arrive with head coach Mauricio Pochettino under increasing heat after Tuesday’s 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal, to face a Villa team looking to take another big step toward Champions League qualification. But Emery knows his players can take nothing for granted and has used February’s 3-1 FA Cup exit to the same opponents as a warning.

Chelsea went into that match under a similar cloud, following a 4-2 home defeat to Wolves.

Emery said: “They deserved to beat us. I will respect them [tonight] 100 per cent, expecting their best performance.

“They played against Manchester City last week in the semi-final of the FA Cup and played amazing. They were very dangerous and threatened them, deserving to win. This is the Chelsea I expect tomorrow against us.”