Barcelona, Nov 3 — Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has labelled FC Barcelona one of the favourites to win the UEFA Champions League, while insisting his side must rely on its own strengths and style when the two teams meet in their league-phase clash on Wednesday.
Villa will travel to Camp Nou to extend their perfect start in the competition, having won all three opening matches against Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe and Viking. Emery's men are also on a five-match winning run in European competitions ahead of the challenging assignment against Hansi Flick's side.
"Barcelona is a favourite for winning this competition. I could choose five teams who might be vying for this title; one of them is Barcelona," Emery said during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
The Spanish manager acknowledged the quality of Barcelona but stressed that Aston Villa must focus on their own identity rather than simply adapting their approach to their opponents.
"So, we need to find our own personality and play with our own style, with our own qualities and skills. Try to make the most of our individual talent; you need to try to make the most of our qualities," he said.
"In turn, Barcelona will be demanding of us. We need to adapt, and we need to face tomorrow's game in that way. But it will be different to the ones against PSG and Real Madrid. We need to play our own game," he added.
Barcelona have collected six points from their first three league-phase matches, having beaten Feyenoord and Galatasaray before suffering a 4-2 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain. They head into the fixture on the back of a convincing 6-1 victory over Alaves in La Liga, where they have dropped just three points so far this season.
Emery described the upcoming contest as one of the toughest challenges his team could face in this Champions League campaign but expressed confidence in the progress made by his players.
"Tomorrow we are facing one of the favourite teams to win this competition. So, the challenge is huge tomorrow; maybe for this Champions League, it is the most difficult match we're going to face against Barcelona here," he said.
The Aston Villa manager also pointed to Barcelona's pedigree and recent achievements, while acknowledging the pressure that comes with being considered favourites.
"Obviously Barcelona are favourites because of the present and because of what they've done over the last 10 years. Now they need to confirm their favourite role, playing at their very best. And if they play at their best, they are indeed capable of beating any team," Emery said.
Villa, meanwhile, are looking to establish themselves as a consistent force in European football. The club won the European Cup in 1982 and returned to the Champions League in recent seasons, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Paris Saint-Germain.
"We are a team that is trying to find our own path, a consistent path in Europe, in the Champions League. We've been together for four years. This is the second year playing in the Champions League," Emery said.