Unai Emery is doing a pretty good job at Aston Villa. Finally, something we can all agree on.

The former Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla head coach left Villarreal to replace Steven Gerrard at Villa Park in October 2022. The Villans had only won two of their opening 11 Premier League matches that season, sitting 16th in the table and one point above the relegation zone.

After a strong start under the Liverpool legend, Villa’s form collapsed and Emery was seen as a major coup, even if he failed as Arsene Wenger’s replacement at Arsenal.

His first match in charge was a 3-1 win over Manchester United – the club’s first home league win over the Red Devils since 1995 – and it quickly became clear that his time in the Midlands would be a lot more successful than it was in the capital.

Emery’s success at Aston Villa has exceeded all expectations. Despite an awful start with Gerrard in charge, Villa managed to finish seventh in the Premier League after winning 15 of their remaining 25 matches, qualifying for the Europa Conference League.

In the club’s first European campaign since 2010/11, they were expected to win the competition but came up short against eventual winners Olympiacos in the semi-final.

Emery made up for that with an incredible Premier League campaign.

Balancing the Thursday-Sunday schedule is extremely difficult at the best of times but the ex-Arsenal boss did so masterfully. He made some big signings like Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby but it was the development of players he inherited that surprised most. He helped Ollie Watkins become one of the best strikers in Europe and took several others to a level they did not seem capable of reaching under Stevie G.

An outstanding 2023/24 campaign included back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Arsenal – who they beat home and away – in December.

Villa also beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and hammered Brighton 6-1 at home on their way to an incredible fourth-placed finish ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, with Watkins finishing the campaign on 19 goals and 15 assists in the top flight.

In Europe’s premier competition for the first time since the 1980s, Villa did not qualify merely to enjoy the experience. They have Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final and given the French club’s European woes, it would not be a huge shock to see Emery’s men progress.

Again balancing Europe with domestic football, Villa are bubbling along very nicely in the Premier League and have an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley to look forward to. They are going about their business quietly in a hectic top half, currently sitting sixth with seven matches remaining. It is the best race for Champions League qualification for a long time and five places are up for grabs, meaning Villa and Emery have every chance of returning in 2025/26.

Only two points separate the Villans and Chelsea in fourth, though there are also only six points between them and tenth-placed Bournemouth.

Back-to-back campaigns in the Champions League places would be astonishing and even if they come up short, Emery deserves an incredible amount of praise for the job he is doing.

It is no surprise to see only Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have accumulated more points and wins since Emery’s arrival and only four teams have a superior goal difference.

Here is the full Premier League table since Unai Emery officially took charge of Aston Villa on November 1, 2022:

We just love tables.

You can build your own custom table, between any two dates on any particular day or matchday, going as far back as when football was invented in 1992.

Or check out where your side ranks in tables based on around 427 different metrics.

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly renewed contact for the potential transfer of Marcus Rashford, having decided against his signing in the January window.

Rashford has spent the last few months with Aston Villa. He made the loan move there as he’d been effectively banished from Manchester United’s squad by Ruben Amorim, not in a matchday squad for weeks prior to the January window opening.

At Villa, the forward has three goals and five assists from 12 games. Manager Unai Emery clearly feels he’s doing well: “He’s really happy with his team-mates. He’s being demanding of himself, with everything we want to work with him, with the team,” he said.

“And I think he’s playing freely. He’s playing comfortably and this is the most important thing to try to connect with him as a person firstly, and after it to connect with him as a player.”

Villa have the first chance of anybody to sign Rashford permanently, as they have a £40million option to make his deal permanent. But if they don’t, L’Equipe suggests PSG are back in the mix for the forward, having looked at him in January.

It’s stated Luis Campos has renewed contact between the club and Rashford’s camp. It comes after they considered the signing in January, but opted to sign Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

It’s believed PSG now want one more explosive forward to round out their attack, and Rashford is that man. Being able to land him depends on whether Villa decide to, though.

MORE ON ASTON VILLA FROM F365:
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If they do decide to sign, it seems likely Rashford would stick with them without a fuss, given they gave him his chance away from United, and he’s taken it with both hands. It seems for sure that he won’t be returning to Old Trafford, though.

Former Red Devil Ben Foster feels the forward has moved on from the club, stating: “He is 100 per cent playing for his move and I don’t see a way back. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s from Man United’s side – I think Rashford is done with them now. Sometimes it just comes to an end.”

READ MORE: Man Utd: Former Red Devils assistant backs summer ‘return’ for one star with ‘obvious reason’ given

Ruben Amorim reportedly wants to be reunited with a star Sporting CP player this summer if he misses out on a sought-after Premier League attacker this summer.

After leaving them in November, Amorim promised not to raid Sporting in the summer. That promise was not extended to the summer window, and it seems the Manchester United boss could do with reinforcements who know his system.

His Red Devils side are 13th in the Premier League, and there’s been a struggle for some players to adapt to his back-three formation. Some Sporting stars, with a perfect knowledge of how Amorim wants to play, could be good recruits at United.

According to GIVEMESPORT, the boss wants Francisco Trincao by his side. Amorim is said to have ‘pinpointed’ the winger if he can’t get Matheus Cunha in the summer.

Trincao has 24 direct goal contributions for Sporting this season, which includes eight goals and 12 assists in Liga Portugal. He’s said to be a ‘leading alternative’ to Wolves man Cunha ‘in case it becomes clear they will be unable to come out on top’ for him.

Cunha has 13 goals and four assists in the Premier League for the struggling Molineux outfit, and has most of England’s big hitters after him.

While United are said to be in the mix for the Brazilian, it’s believed Cunha “will want” Liverpool more, with the Reds suggested to be leading the race.

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If that is indeed the case, then a move for Trincao looks as if it will be pursued. United have also been linked with his Sporting team-mate, Viktor Gyokeres, who has 44 goals this season in all competitions.

The report refers to the Red Devils having shown interest in luring the Swede to Old Trafford, but it’s stated Trincao is the ‘most likely’ big name at Sporting to follow Amorim to Manchester.

Along with the aforementioned pair, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo is also said to be on United’s mind, but Trincao is ‘firmly’ in their sights if Cunha can’t be signed.

READ MORE: Man Utd ask for Prem striker with just three goals this season, as he ‘wants to leave’ rivals

The Champions League returns and only eight teams are left standing. Can Arsenal overcome Real Madrid and their silly European pedigree and does Bruno Fernandes have what it takes to keep carrying Manchester United?

We are looking forward to a Big Midweek of football.

Game to watch: Arsenal v Real Madrid
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal came unstuck at the quarter-final stage of last season’s Champions League, falling to Bayern Munich and their European aura. They will have learned from the experience but that means absolutely nothing when you have to overcome Real Madrid. Their superpowers in Europe go beyond aura and it’s Arsenal’s turn to learn that the hard way.

The outcome of this fixture is pretty predictable; the Gunners will put in one of their best performances under Arteta but will be held to a home draw after a lucky Kylian Mbappe deflected shot in the 78th minute. We are sorry but the script has been written. The second leg will be more entertaining and Arsenal will ultimately go out to a debatable refereeing/VAR decision. The fan reaction is going to be pure cinema.

It is true that to be the best, you must beat the best. Real Madrid are by definition, the best. They are the reigning European champions and improved the summer following their Wembley victory over Borussia Dortmund by signing Mbappe on a free transfer. There is no doubt that they have some vulnerabilities but for them to be exposed, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli are going to have to play out of their skin. Luck is necessary as well because as we will often reiterate, Madrid have some Champions League juju on their side.

Accepting an Arsenal injustice before a ball has been kicked is so Arsenal but let’s move away from that. This is going to be a brilliant football match, isn’t it?

As there should be at this stage of Europe’s premier competition, there will be exciting match-ups all over the pitch. Aurelien Tchoumeni is suspended so we will probably have to make do with Eduardo Camavinga v Declan Rice, which is still pretty fun. Then you have Jurrien Timber (if he plays right-back) against Vinicius Junior, William Saliba v Kylian Mbappe and Gabriel Martinelli v Federico Valverde (again, if he plays right-back).

Then you also have the fact that this is a rare fixture. A new generation of Arsenal fans will get to see the Galacticos come to the Emirates for the first time. Their only Champions League/European Cup meeting was in 2006 and Arsenal prevailed 1-0 on aggregate when Thierry Henry scored that goal at the Bernabeu. No adjudication is needed on the use of that, there are not many goals that deserve the italicised that more.

Player to watch: Bruno Fernandes
We have seen a few versions of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United and we might be looking at the best one yet. Following Ruben Amorim’s arrival and clear desire to play three at the back, we questioned where club captain Fernandes would fit in, but he has been bloody brilliant in a bloody poor team. He is playing like a captain, like a leader and is the heartbeat and spine of Amorim’s United, showing maturity that has often eluded him through sulkiness and moaning under previous managers.

That is fantastic from a personal standpoint but such reliance means if Fernandes has an off day, the whole plan is thrown in the bin and the Red Devils are in deep trouble. They travel to face Lyon in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday and the French side are In A Good Moment. Now managed by Paulo Fonseca, Lyon beat Lille in a crucial Ligue Un match on Saturday and comfortably dispatched FCSB 7-1 on aggregate in the previous round of the Europa.

Fonseca’s side have some dangerous players like Rayan Cherki and Thiago Almada and some familiar faces in Alexandre Lacazette, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Nemanja Matic but Fernandes will be the best footballer on the pitch and will need to step up to help United take an advantage – or at least not be behind – for the second leg at Old Trafford next week.

The weight he holds in this fixture is a huge reason why Fernandes is our player to watch but the fact he is really fun to watch right now is even more important. He was the only player to show any quality in Sunday’s drab Manchester derby and the Portuguese has been crucial in United’s progression through the Europa League, netting a hat-trick in the previous round against Real Sociedad when we proclaimed this silly football club Bruno Fernandes FC.

Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers are also in Europa League action this week and Ange Postecoglou and Barry Ferguson were both tempting for manager to watch, but we have looked abroad for that one.

Manager to watch: Vincent Kompany
Bayern Munich are a very dangerous team but Inter and Simone Inzaghi are a throwback tough Italian nut to crack – we sense Vincent Kompany will be taught a lesson by the eventual winners of the Champions League (my personal prediction, for what it’s worth).

Getting Burnley relegated after spending a fortune somehow earned Kompany the Bayern job, which Sean Dyche recently took exception to. It was quite the move and widely criticised but to be fair to the former Manchester City captain, he is on course to bring the Bundesliga plate back to Munich. If he does he will become the guy manager who helped Harry Kane finally win a first career trophy, which is the real win here.

Bayern v Inter is a rematch of the 2010 final that the latter won to complete a historic Treble under Jose Mourinho. Bayern will likely look to put the Italian champions to the sword but that is easier said than done against a team and manager who can win tactical battles in their sleep.

Kompany can learn a thing or two from Tuesday’s match at the Allianz Arena and the fact Inzaghi is much savvier means Kompany will surely be thankful the first leg is at home, which is quite unusual in knockout football.

Hopefully the Belgian can show us and Inzaghi up with a tactical masterclass.

Team to watch: Aston Villa
Unai Emery has claimed a few lovely scalps over his previous employers Arsenal in the Premier League and he is now hoping to haunt another former club in the Champions League on Wednesday. After overcoming Liverpool with some unusual European maturity, Paris Saint-Germain have been put up against the competition’s surprise package, who are more than capable of providing another upset in the last eight.

The first leg between Villa and PSG is in France and it feels inevitable that the visitors will try and avoid a hammering. They will need some of the luck Liverpool rode in their smash-and-grab last month and if you were to back another goalkeeping masterclass at Parc des Princes, you would put money on Emiliano Martinez.

Emery has some know-how in this competition – even ignoring the fact he was the PSG boss for the Barcelona comeback in 2017 – having led Villarreal to the last four of the competition in 2021/22. This is going to be a very interesting match.

Football League game to watch: Middlesbrough v Leeds United
Leeds have gone full Leeds. You should never, ever go full Leeds. They have a weird obsession with f**king their season up in the play-offs and after being in pole position to win the Championship, they are on the brink of doing it again as Sheffield United and Burnley refuse to get sucked into the ridiculousness.

Daniel Farke’s side have dropped down to third in the table and face fifth-place Middlesbrough at Riverside Stadium on Tuesday evening. The Yorkshire side dropped more points against Luton Town on Saturday after consecutive 2-2 draws against ten-man QPR and Swansea City at home as they continue to fall off a cliff after what seemed like a significant victory at Sheffield United on February 24.

The unfortunate reality is that Leeds are big fat bottle merchants who refuse to do things the easy way. A trip to Boro is far from ideal given their current funk and you do fancy Michael Carrick’s men to kick Leeds while they are down.

Carrick’s side beat a Blackburn Rovers side still reeling off the departure of John Eustace to make it four league matches unbeaten. It is honestly very difficult to look beyond a home victory but as we all know, the Championship is extremely unpredictable – which is its charm really. What is for certain is that this match is a must-watch; whack it on your tablet or phone while Arsenal v Madrid is on the big screen.

Paul Scholes claims one Manchester United star requested a “meeting” after “taking offence” to criticism, but he did not name the player in question.

The Red Devils are enduring a woeful season as they have spent most of the 2024/25 campaign in the bottom half of the Premier League.

United are slowly improving, but head coach Ruben Amorim has struggled to implement his preferred formation and playing style since replacing Erik ten Hag. They are 13th in our calendar-year Premier League table.

Man Utd are miles away from challenging for the Premier League title and Champions League and have been heavily criticised by pundits in recent years.

Scholes never minces his words when commenting on Man Utd and claims one player was “not happy” with his analysis and “wanted a meeting at the training ground”.

“Players can be a little bit touchy these days,” Scholes said on The Overlap Fan Debate when asked whether players have a go at his comments.

READ: Big Midweek: Arsenal v Real Madrid, Bruno Fernandes FC, Emery in Paris, Leeds bottlejob

“I had a player [from Manchester United], this year, who contacted me and wasn’t happy with some of the things I’d said.

“He wanted to meet me at the training ground, and I said, ‘Of course, no problem,’ and gave him my number but he never got back to me.

“I would have done it. If I’m saying things I believe and he wants me to explain why, it wouldn’t have been a nice conversation, but I said if they or anyone else has a problem, there’s my phone number.”

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Scholes is also insistent that comments from pundits “shouldn’t affect players” as these words need to be “taken with a pinch of salt”.

“What we say [as pundits] shouldn’t affect a player,” Scholes added.

“The only people that should affect the players is what the manager thinks, the coaching staff, and their teammates. Whatever is said on TV should be taken with a pinch of salt.

“I’m not even sure how many players these days watch football and watch what we’re saying.

“There was one United player who obviously took a bit of offense to what I said, but you just deal with it. If they need an explanation or a meeting over a tea or coffee, I’d be happy to give it.”

Ruben Amorim is reportedly considering ‘springing a surprise’ with a left-field option ‘picked’ to ‘replace’ Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo.

Amorim has endured a rough start at Man Utd as they remain in the bottom half of the Premier League with seven matches of the 2024/25 season remaining.

Man Utd have been run terribly in recent years and a lot of work is required to get the Premier League giants back on track with a huge squad overhaul necessary.

United’s dire season leaves most of their squad at risk of being sold/released this summer and it’s even been suggested that Mainoo could be let go.

The Red Devils need to offload valuable talents to raise funds for signings, and Mainoo could bring in around £60-70m if he is sold.

READ: Big Midweek: Arsenal v Real Madrid, Bruno Fernandes FC, Emery in Paris, Leeds bottlejob

Mainoo was one of last season’s breakout stars as he shone for Man Utd and England, but his form has dipped this season as he’s been impacted by injuries and fatigue.

Chelsea were linked with Mainoo in January and it has been suggested that a move could be possible this summer with contract negotiations dragging on.

A report from Football Transfers claims ‘Man Utd would be loath to sell their homegrown star, but their hand could be forced due to their persistent struggles with PSR rules’.

This has led to a ‘willingness to experiment’ with centre-back Lisandro Martinez ‘picked’ as a possible replacement.

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Regarding the reasoning for this stance, the report explains.

‘Sources have informed us that Lisandro Martinez is a key factor in Amorim’s thinking. The 2022 World Cup winner is currently nursing an ACL injury and is not expected to return until the end of the year or potentially even 2026.

‘But Amorim’s concerns go beyond the immediate need for another body in defence. We are told that the 40-year-old has genuine doubts over Martinez’s suitability to his back-three system.

‘Indeed, there is a feeling that Amorim would be open to sacrificing the Argentine to aid Man Utd’s bid of raising funds. But with clubs unlikely to splash the cash on a player who is injured long-term, the coach could spring a surprise to better integrate Martinez into his formation upon his return.

‘Sources say that Amorim is willing to give Martinez a chance in midfield, which is not a totally foreign role to him. During his first season at Ajax in 2019/20, the diminutive centre-back played primarily as a defensive midfielder.

‘Additionally, there is an expectation that Casemiro will receive offers this summer. Martinez would be more of a like-for-like replacement for the former Real Madrid star than Mainoo, although he would not be a guaranteed starter in midfield, regardless of whom he replaces.’