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S1 E66 Arsenal review and looking ahead to Monoco
0 Playsin 11 hours
On today's episode Joe and Craig reflect on Villa's 2-2 draw with Arsenal and preview the Champions League clash with Monaco.
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Transcript
00:00:05
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Sports Podcast Network.
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:07
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work
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Daily Villa podcast, as brought to you by the Global Sports Podcast Network. My name is Joe Boone and I'm delighted to be joined by Craig to talk about a hard fought point at the Emirates and to look ahead to the return of Champions League action against Monaco.
Insights on Villa's Recent Performances
00:00:29
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First things first, how are you, mate? Doing very well, pal. How about you?
00:00:34
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I'm all good, all good, ready to talk all things Villa. We've had some time now to ah to kind of process exactly what we saw at the Emirates and there's certainly quite a few kind of talking points to get through that we're going to go through and explore. But kind of first things first, what did what did you make of of of Villa's performance?
00:00:53
Speaker
I thought it was a expected performance. um ah end I didn't expect to go to the Emirates and outplay Arsenal. I thought we were going to be large portions of time where we were going to have to deal with whatever they could f throw at us. And the first 10 minutes in particular, it felt like it was going to be a very long game. They bombarded us and we had to kind of survive what they threw at us and then the game got better from that point still wasn't it was still majority Arsenal but like I think we held our own for the most part happy how about you Joe
00:01:30
Speaker
Yeah, I thought it was a a much more kind of resolute performance than maybe we were used to seeing. Again, you didn't expect to go there to the Emirates and kind of dominate the ball and um play really expansive football and and kind of control the tempo of the game. So I think it was going to be a very different kind of performance if we were to get anything, which obviously we we we did.
Team Resilience and Mental Strength
00:01:50
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um But yeah, I think there was there were solid performances all round without necessarily being spectacular in in any one area.
00:01:58
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um But yeah, eventually, at the end of the day, it was more, I think, a a mental side than a performance side that they've kind of got us something from the performance. And once again, we battled back from behind to to earn a point on the road. We've seen Villa come from behind ah to gain points on a few occasions this season so far, whether it was coming back to win or or to draw. What do you think that says about the mentality of this this Villa squad, especially in a tough place to go like the Emirates?
00:02:27
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It says a lot, to be perfectly honest. The Villa team does seem like, for many, many years, this is the most collective group of motivated players that are in it for each other, I feel at the moment, and that's certainly something that I want to highlight. I do obviously want to get away from this needing to have to recover, needing that mental strength, um rather it so to get away from the fact that we keep conceding early and so on.
00:02:57
Speaker
but I do think we are showing some great resilience and I'm really pleased that we've now two away games without a loss in a row which does say a lot for us because we beat Everton who are now looking a lot better after their win with Spurs this past weekend as well Arsenal never an easy stadium to get to even though they've had some rough parts this season it is looking a lot more promising I feel It certainly is.
Adapting to Different Playing Styles
00:03:25
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And I think, you know, looking at that resilience, sorry, and that mental strength, is that something that comes from the players or is it something that the coach instills into his team?
00:03:36
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I think it's instilled from a team, like from a collective effort from the moment Emory took over. It's slow building blocks. It's not like you go into a game and you your coach has to tell you to focus. It's not like that. I think it's a matter of time, but I think it's also, he's put the right pieces in the puzzle with so many players that are motivated and understand what it takes to get over the line.
00:04:04
Speaker
Yeah, completely agree. I think we've seen on on multiple occasions, the kind of mental strength of this side, whether it's been in kind of Champions League or European kind of games that we've played or whether it's been in the Premier League as well. We know that this is a team that when we go ah when we go a goal down or two goals down, even in this case, there's there's never that feeling that we're totally out of the game. And I think that's something that we're quite almost fortunate to have as Villa fans, because I think it says a lot about the about the squad and about the the coaching staff.
00:04:34
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We had 34% possession overall in the game, which is probably, as you mentioned there, to be kind of expected going to the Emirates. Very different to what we used to and arguably known for, of course. We're known as being a possession-heavy side that kind of dominate the ball, control the tempo of games. How important is it, do you think, that this is a team that can adapt to different styles of play, depending on our opponent?
00:04:59
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I think it's massive because we don't have the luxury of being a Liverpool, say for example, where we can turn up and beat every single team in our league. um So we have to be adaptable and I think that's one of the best thing that Emory has given us the fact that I think we actually look very dangerous on the counter attack. So there's been certain games where I'm okay with it to be perfect. It's not as attractive to look at, to be perfectly honest, but it's one of those things that we have to deal with. And
00:05:34
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One of the things i've I've implied in this show is the fact that's worried me a lot this season is that we haven't picked up points against those teams that have been above us. So to get a point out of Arsenal away from home is a very valuable point in my opinion.
00:05:51
Speaker
We have, um out of the current top four current top six, we have five home games against those play those teams as well left this season. So we need to pick up victories against those teams in order to get Champions League football. And we will need to have different
Securing a Champions League Spot
00:06:08
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styles applied. We will have to understand that we can't play our game against them 100% of the time. So I think this this bodes well very well for the future.
00:06:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a really important point that you've raised there about kind of playing teams in and around us. It's something that we struggled with last season when you think of games like ah the 4-0 against Spurs and we struggled against Newcastle, I think was another kind of bogey team that were we' in and around us with those kind of, with those, I suppose, those six pointers going into kind of the Champions League places that we're we're all kind of fighting for.
00:06:42
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How important do you think it is that we kind of right the wrongs of last season and really start trying to beat and pick up points against those teams in and around us? I think it's not even about righting the wrongs from last season. It's about showing up absolute growth because at the end of the day, those teams that are in and around us want the position that we're in. For example, if you spoke to any Chelsea fan, they would obviously give their right arm to exchange conference league for Champions League.
00:07:10
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as simple as that. So it's a matter of not just righting the wrongs from last year, but showing growth as a team, understanding that now to show it's one thing getting to that point of becoming a champion league team, but staying there is a lot harder. And that's something that we need to care about.
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. I think becoming an established kind of Champions League or European team is something that we as we know, Emory wants to achieve and and the kind of higher ups in the directors box have spoken about their ambitions becoming an established kind of hopefully Champions League side. So I think especially with the the odds of England getting that fifth place Champions League spot, we're hoping that we'll have an extra spot to battle for. But you'd like to think that that's not something that we're going to be relying on, that we're really going to be aiming for that fourth place, which is still very, very much in sight, considering some of the teams in and around there, especially with the kind of the ah the the dips and and ebbs and flows in form of teams like Man City, who seemingly you don't really know what you're going to get when you watch a city game, they could lose, they could win, who knows. so
00:08:17
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I think it's the fact we're fighting for those same spots and there's some some very kind of some very well drilled teams in there, teams that you maybe not expect, you're Nottingham Forest and you're Bournemouths. When we're coming up against those sides that are maybe outside the big six that are fighting for those Champions League spots, do you think we're going to try and keep that kind of possession based style or do you think we'll see something similar to the Arsenal game or we we look to give up a little bit more of the ball and be a bit more clinical when we when we do get the chances?
Strategic Play: Possession vs Counter-Attacks
00:08:47
Speaker
It's a very good question because I've actually been very fond of watching say Bournemouth and Forrest this season, watching the way they play. um They have a real good understanding of their organisation in defence as well as their attacking prowess. So I think it's going to be a tough one to battle. um Personally I expect um say a Bournemouth for example to possessed still and look to try and play us at their ground, for example. But um Forest, I feel, will be a bit more organized, look to get behind the ball. They've done really well at counter-attacks this season. So it's going to be a little bit of a bit of both really with those games. Because even when you play against some of the other teams,
00:09:39
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Newcastle, very much like Emory does for Villa, there's slight tweaks about their game that changes. They're not not consistently playing the same way all the time. um Whereas like, say in Manchester City, you know what you're going to get. It's going to be fast. It's going to be slow, methodical football, looking to break at the right times and then change your pace as they get into the final third, that sort of thing. So yeah, it's ah that's where Emory is going to earn the big blocks, I'm afraid.
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And, you know, I think most of Villa fans listening will be trusting him to do that because we've seen the ah way he kind of analyzes and explores football and and creates tactics to beat teams. So if there's any man who I think can study a an opposition ah team, he's probably a Zuni Emery. We're going to be back to discuss the result further after a short message, courtesy of Zencaster.
00:10:38
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Analyzing Defensive Gaps and Counter Strategies
00:11:18
Speaker
Welcome back. And the first goal of the game came through Gabriel Martinelli. it It was a tough one to kind of watch this this opening arsenal goal. What went wrong with it in your eyes, Craig?
00:11:31
Speaker
Oh, where to start, Joe? Yeah, i'd I'd actually like to hear you your side first before I yeah jump in there. It's a really kind of difficult one because I think that obviously Gabriel Martinelli is a player that we would have identified beforehand. We would have and identified the strengths that he has coming down that left side. He gave us a lot of issues, I believe, in the first game at Villa Park. And so we we knew that the pace he had in behind and and the quality. And I don't feel as though either wing for this Arsenal team were defended in a manner that was kind of
00:12:08
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um equal with the the quality that they had there. I know Matt's, and we're going to mention this, I'm sure a little bit later, struggled particularly down the left side. And I think Martinelli's pace and power in behind was, was something that we were always kind of, was always going to be a danger. So yeah, I just think it's, it's, for me, it's getting the fullbacks aware of, of kind of how to defend against different wingers, whether it's stepping out and pushing them to the byline, whether that's allowing them to cut in.
00:12:36
Speaker
And I don't know whether our fallbacks were particularly briefed on how to deal with Arsenal's wingers because they gave us trouble all game for me. And I think this goal is just the kind of an amalgamation of what could have been a goal at any point in the game with the wide men that they had. What were your thoughts, Craig?
00:12:52
Speaker
I totally agree and I think it's a matter of case of trying to double in the channels as well um is one of the areas that we play our formation naturally becomes a very narrow formation and we're very packed in the midfield. We need to be able to bring a player across in order to double teams like a holding mid come and help out the right back when you're up against a player like Martinelli where you can take a 2-1-1 to stop the the ideas of like the overlapping fallbacks, stop the idea of cutting inside and so on. So I agree with your estimation there Joe. Yeah I do think it is simply just down to kind of making sure that we are aware of the attacking talent that the other team has and and just being able to kind of get in front of you man especially with balls coming into the box which is something that happened a couple of times in the Arsenal game.
00:13:46
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The second one came via Kai Havertz. Emi I think will be slightly disappointed with how he handled potentially both the goals. Obviously the first one was kind of it was goal line technology just crossed the line and the second one he kind of made an attempt to keep out the net but surely for me Mattson has to be slightly stronger and better positioned. I don't know what your thoughts are on that.
00:14:09
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I do, I think Martinez didn't have one of his better games. The first goal, I feel like, yes, he was a bit unfortunate that the slap away doesn't really happen, um that he does cross the line, but I think he needs to get better. He did do better, I shouldn't say, not get better. Do better with the initial reaction of the shot. And as for the second one, I agree, Madison has showed on a number of occasions now how effective he is going forward.
00:14:39
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but he does feel like a Trent Alexander Arnold in defence where it's not quite clicking for him at times and I feel like there was the goal against West Ham in the cup as well where I feel like his positioning was out of fault so I definitely think this is something the young lad needs to work on because as I say he looks great going forward but at the end of the day full backs still need to know how to defend and that's at the moment does seem like a better weakness.
00:15:07
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree and I think it was asked it was something Arsenal targeted in terms of putting balls across the box, whether it was Mings, whether it was Mattson, whether it was kind of looking to to get Havertz or the opposite winger just in front of the the Villa defender, leaving them with a relatively easy opportunity. I think it's something that they tried a couple of times and obviously it's come off for that for that second goal.
Counter-Attacks and Key Player Performances
00:15:29
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We did fire back however through Urie Tealemans with ah an acrobatic kind of diving glancing header and then eight minutes later Watkins levelled the score line with a volley both really well taken goals I thought and it kind of feels weird to say this about Villa this season but we had our chances and when they came we took them didn't we?
00:15:49
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Yeah, and that's what we've been saying is the difference between a good side and a great side, especially when, as you mentioned earlier, we had like 34% of possession. So when you get those chances, you got to make the most of them. You're not going to get five to 10 chances in front of goal. So you have to take them. And I thought Tealiman's take on his shot was fantastic. When you hear of Yuri Tealiman scoring a goal, you don't expect it to be with his head.
00:16:16
Speaker
so that was good that he's added that to his game and Ollie had a couple of half chances in the first half um but like this was an actual true chance when he got in behind a party who was kind of out of position kind of like what we said about our own fallbacks I know he's not naturally a fallback so that benefited us and Ollie took his chance well and he's getting closer and closer to Gabby's record now He certainly is and it was ah a striker's finish and it was a striker's finish that he can confidence almost, which is great to see because we know that Ollie Watkins is a confidence player and we know how good he can be when he has those confidence spells. And like you say, Yuri Tilleman scoring a slightly grittier goal than we're probably used to with him. He also hit the post, of course. What did you make of kind of his overall performance, one of the standouts for me from the the game?
00:17:08
Speaker
Yeah I think we've mentioned in recent weeks that like we've been a massive fan of Tealumans all the time but we do feel he kind of like lost his flow a little over the past few weeks so it was good to see a good solid performance from him because I've said ever since Dougie Louise left the club he's really took that midfield by the huge straps and I feel now our midfield looks stronger, in fact, without Dougie in it. I think Tiedemann's a step top, I think Ohmana, he's going to be the new Mr Glasser field.
00:17:42
Speaker
are always injured but like when he's in doing great we got Barkley in there as well and Kamara playing very well. So our midfield has gone from strength to strength and I just hope that we can do the same sort of thing now Diego Carlos has left the club that our defence can now become stronger as well with a couple of added players into there as well.
00:18:06
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. And I think it's interesting seeing Yuri Telemans play kind of two different roles, whether he plays in that number 10 position behind Watkins is allowed a little bit more creativity to kind of roam forward, have a shot on goal, use his kind of passing ability. And I feel like we're starting to see the kind of the attacking qualities that he has. And sometimes we don't get to see those when he's sat in that kind of double pivot. Do you think his skill set and his quality suits that number 10 role slightly better than it does as one of those two holding players?
00:18:37
Speaker
I think it depends on the teams that we're playing against I think it's suited in more against an Arsenal because like have someone with a bit more work rate sitting in And when I say work, right? I mean basically more in defense with having go Nana and Kamara there that are a bit more of a physical presence and a bit more better understanding of defensive shape and then it releases tealemans to play a little further up because he's got goals on him and when you're As we mentioned earlier, when you play against teams that you're not going to see the ball off often, you've got to take your chances. There's not many in the team that I would trust in front of goal to that' to score more than teammates.
00:19:20
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I think he's definitely one of our better offensive players. And I think he's shown that he has, you know, he knows where the goal is. And I think he gives us something a little bit different in terms of he can score goals from long range. And that's something we don't necessarily have an abundance of players that can do that in the team. So I think he's very kind of unique and in what he brings to this team. And I would like to see him in that number 10 role a little bit more, because I think it really does bring out a lot of the qualities that he has.
00:19:47
Speaker
We're going to be back to look ahead to our Champions League game on the horizon against Monaco after a short message from the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:19:59
Speaker
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00:20:17
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00:20:28
Speaker
Welcome back to what I'm going to decide is the part two of this episode because we have very very little time to dwell on the Arsenal game because we have Champions League football back on the horizon, ah New Year and the same hopefully form in the Champions League because as we know we have been relatively strong across all of our Champions League games.
Preview: Champions League Match Against Monaco
00:20:51
Speaker
And we have a really interesting tie coming up against Monaco. One that when the draw was probably done a lot of Villa fans looked at as one of our maybe easier games or one of our more winnable games. But Monaco have been really exciting. They've they've been a really interesting attacking team that have kind of gained ah national and European attention for the way that they've played this season. They've had some tough forming in recent games but what do you make about our chances against Monaco Craig?
00:21:17
Speaker
I think it's a very good chance and to establish even more points and try to get closer to confirm in that eighth position so we can skip the the next round.
00:21:30
Speaker
Um, looking at like France, uh, I haven't really watched that La Liga much, not La Liga, uh, not, uh, um, much this season, but like looking at the scores that like they lost this past f Friday to Monte Pella. They drew with Reims, they drew in arts, they lost the PSG. So for their league form, you have to go back to December 22nd, where they'd be, um, St.
00:21:56
Speaker
For for one, so it's been a rough few weeks for them that confidence can't be that high and yet villa for example coming off to two away games in a row where we haven't We haven't lost should get that off our back as well. I believe now we're undefeated in five um And it seems like we have those players that really step up for Champions League football in the like your Emmy Martin there's for a prime example there and So I think it's a great opportunity for us to get points. um I don't think Monaco is going to be an easy game by any stretch of the means. But I do think they're a team that will come and attack us. And we spoke before how we feel teams that come at us, um we handle better than ones that sit in. So I think that would be something else that plays to our strengths. Yeah, completely agree. I think they they're going to be a
00:22:51
Speaker
a team that we can't go in underestimating because as much as their league form has dropped off, they obviously suffered a penalty defeat in the Coupe de France coupe de france to Stadrem, which was a bit of an upset in their kind of cup competition. But they are a side that have a lot of quality, particularly in the midfield. You know, you go through, you look through their squad and they have a lot of kind of XPSG players, um players that can hurt you and that have played for kind of English clubs as well, you look at the likes of Minamino who obviously ah English fans will know from Liverpool, Dennis Zachariah who kind of made a kind of brief stint at Chelsea, Florian Balligan from Arsenal, they have a lot of players that will be familiar to English fans that that can hurt you and that are dangerous
00:23:35
Speaker
And then you throw those alongside some of the more experienced players, um especially in their back lines. So, yeah, I think it's going to be a really difficult game. I think the style that they play is exactly what you said there. They do play expansive football. They will try and come at us and Villa do tend to play better when we're up against the side that seemingly want to play football and aren't going to sit in in that low block and make us kind of knock the ball around in front of them. So.
00:23:58
Speaker
I'm expecting a really open game. I think it's going to be a game with a lot of pockets of space, particularly kind of in between their backline and the midfield for the likes of Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, ah potentially Urie Tealemans to exploit. And I also think it's a game that's made for Ollie Watkins. He's running in behind. Stretching that backline could be really, really important and could be the kind of the the key to unlock this Monaco side.
00:24:23
Speaker
Is there any kind of style, I suppose, or do you think this is a game that's made for any particular individual in this squad? I think you'll see a better performance from Morgan Rogers in this game. I think he was stifled against Arsenal, for example. I don't think he was able to get on the ball as much. So I do think this will be a great opportunity for him to shine. um i do I do agree with you that this is a game that's made for Watkins, but I do expect Duran to start. So it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
00:24:58
Speaker
um But yeah, I think this is a very winnable
Defensive Consistency for Champions League Success
00:25:01
Speaker
game. I think Rogers is one of the players to watch and I would really love our back four to consolidate now and look to get those clean sheets.
00:25:12
Speaker
Yeah, and what what you mentioned there about Doran actually leads on to my next point. We've seen Emory a couple of times mention the the idea, the almost kind of mystery behind potentially starting Watkins and Doran together. And we obviously haven't seen Doran for a couple of weeks due to his suspension um from the Newcastle game. But I think this is a game where starting to up top or maybe playing Watkins off of Doran could really work because I think that it presents the the opportunity to kind of try something a little bit different. I think having Duran as that target man and having Watkins doing a lot of the running for him where maybe Duran kind of wouldn't do that, um I think that could work really really well and it'd be interesting to see whether Emory goes down that route because I think I think it's ah a kind of a style or a tactic that could work really well against this this Monaco side having Duran is physicality and aerial ability kind of being able to bully their back line and then walking stretching them opening up pockets of space for whoever else it may be in that midfield. Is that kind of something that you you think might work or is that the kind of do you think it will be one up top in um a much more traditional villa kind of either one or the other?
00:26:22
Speaker
I think it could definitely work. It just depends on how much of rotation we'll see because we've got a lot of games coming up and have been recently. So it's a case of for me, I think that will work, but who would miss out? Would Jacob Ramsey then go back to the bench? Would it be a time to rest one of the midfielders?
00:26:42
Speaker
um It's it's a it's a very interesting one. But like I say, it's It's definitely something I've spoke about a lot over recent weeks The ability to see both playing and with West Ham sniffing around Duran again now I would like to put that to bed and try to make sure we're keeping both as happy as possible because it we're one of those few teams that have not just one great striker but two like Arsenal searching for a nine West Ham are searching for a nine and
00:27:12
Speaker
um Liverpool even with Jota being constantly injured they don't know if they have their true 9 yet so it's ah it's an interesting one for Villa and separates us from the herd so I want to figure out a way to keep both and if playing both is the answer I'm all for it.
00:27:30
Speaker
Yeah, you'd like to think the ah West Ham bid for Duran was kind of put to bed the minute they sent it because I can't see him ah heading to to East London anytime soon. I hope that I'm proven right on that one because he's such an important part of this bit of squad.
00:27:45
Speaker
And to kind of wrap up the episode, I think how important is is a win to kind of keep the Champions League automatic qualification push alive. Obviously, we currently sit fifth with 13 points, but there's an abundance of teams kind of going after these these automatic positions. And there is only obviously eight of them. How important is a win against Monaco to make sure we do secure our place in those automatic qualification spots?
00:28:11
Speaker
For me, it's not necessarily the importance of a win, but it's an importance to not lose this one. um I wouldn't be disappointed with a draw away from home. I ideally want the win and I do think this is a winnable game, but Monaco are, I believe they're 16th in the Champions League at the moment. and So they'll be plugging away trying to get points themselves. So I don't think it's a must win, but it certainly is a must look must not lose.
00:28:40
Speaker
Yeah exactly and you know as you mentioned there they're 16th on 10 points so a win for them against Villa would fire them into those kind of into the ah into that group of teams that are fighting for the automatic so it's such a huge game for them to kind of keep their Champions League automatic hopes um kind of alive in that sense so it's a huge game for both clubs and as you mentioned there it's one we need to we we we need to not lose because you know I think a point pretty much keeps us in the running and I think a win almost secures our spot in that top eight, which it would obviously be a great achievement for our our kind of first Champions League running in many, many decades.
00:29:22
Speaker
That's all for this episode of The Daily Villa Podcast. Thank you to Craig for joining me. Be sure to get in touch across all the socials that you can find in the podcast description. This has been a global sport podcast production. Thank you for listening, as always, of The Villa.