Emery refuses to use injury crisis as excuse ahead of Villa's Champions League clash with Viking

Unai Emery has dismissed any suggestion that Aston Villa’s growing injury list will serve as an excuse when they host Viking in the Champions League on Wednesday, with four first-team players unavailable for the Villa Park tie.

Johan Manzambi, the 21-year-old Switzerland international who headed in the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Newcastle, was withdrawn in the 72nd minute with a knock and will not feature against the Norwegian side. His absence compounds existing problems: defender Matteo Ruggeri is expected to miss around two months, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is sidelined for three to four weeks, and Amadou Onana remains a longer-term absentee.

“We have enough players, no excuses,” Emery said. “Tomorrow we’ll find solutions in case we need to get our performance, of course, collectively and individually in each position.” The Spaniard did note that Ian Maatsen has returned to training and is available this week.

Villa arrive in good form, having won four of their last five games across all competitions. Last week they dismantled Fenerbahce 6-0 in Europe, and a third consecutive Champions League victory would further strengthen their position in the competition.

Emery is not underestimating Viking, however, pointing to the visitors’ 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich last week as evidence of their quality. “Viking drew against Bayern Munich last week, they lost against Stuttgart. They are with Bodo/Glimt in the league first and second with the same points,” he said. “Viking are a new team as well with the capacity to draw with Bayern Munich and compete against Stuttgart and compete against us tomorrow. This is the Champions League and it is very difficult.”

Villa currently sit on six points in the Champions League, a tally Emery described as “amazing” while stressing that European football demands respect for every opponent regardless of reputation.