Emery backs Tottenham for top four ahead of Villa trip

Unai Emery expects Tottenham Hotspur to challenge for Champions League qualification this season, describing Roberto De Zerbi's side as a team with enormous quality ahead of Saturday's Premier League meeting. Aston Villa travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a 12:30 kick-off, with both clubs yet to register a league victory in the current campaign.

According to Sports Mole, the Villa manager used his pre-match press conference to highlight the strength of Spurs' summer recruitment. Emery told reporters that Tottenham signed several excellent players and possess huge potential, although he acknowledged they require time to absorb De Zerbi's tactical ideas and become compact as a unit.

Emery was equally complimentary about the opposition head coach, pointing to De Zerbi's previous work at Brighton, in Italy and at Marseille. He noted that Tottenham compete well even in defeat, referencing their recent performance against Liverpool as evidence of their progress under the Italian.

While talking up Saturday's hosts, Emery also referenced the capabilities within his own squad. By suggesting that only one top-four place remains realistically available behind Arsenal and Manchester City, he appeared to position Villa among a group of teams capable of claiming that final Champions League spot.

Villa head into the weekend off the back of a 3-1 League Cup victory at Coventry City on Wednesday night. In the Premier League, however, results have been harder to come by, with draws and defeats leaving them searching for their first three points of the division's season.

Saturday's fixture represents another demanding test for a heavily reshaped Villa squad. Emery's public assessment of the challenge awaiting his players in north London suggests he anticipates a tactically rigorous encounter against a Spurs side eager to find their rhythm.