Emery on a fit squad, Olsen and a 'special' semi-final against Palace
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley (17:15 BST).Here are the key lines from his news conference:Emery confirmed he has a full squad to select from: "We will need our starting XI and all the players on the bench to be ready to play. We are ready for 90 minutes, extra-time, penalty shoot-out."On what he expects from the semi-final against Palace: "It will be very difficult. It's a good opportunity for us to be in this semi-final and share this moment with our supporters. My expectation is a very difficult match because of their motivation, they are in a very good moment. We are motivated like them, in a good moment like them, and we want to try and play with our best performance collectively and individually."More on the Eagles: "They played very well the last match against Arsenal. It's really giving us this information on how they act. I have massive respect for the coach, massive respect for Crystal Palace and the players and massive respect for the semi-final."He was asked about what walking out at Wembley will mean to him: "I will enjoy. I am a coach and I love my profession and work. Tomorrow I will enjoy it. Of course, I have a huge responsibility to respond in a good way with the players but I really am so so excited to play matches like we will tomorrow with the possibility we will have in the FA Cup."On what it will mean to Villa fans: "It is something special when you are sharing it with our supporters because I know it is special for them. They will travel with us to be in Wembley and it really means we improve in everything."On reports goalkeeper Robin Olsen will leave the club at the end of the season: "The respect for him in the dressing room, from the players and myself as a coach, is massive. He is a fantastic guy. He always helps us when we need him. He's an example in every way, and the message he constantly sends in the dressing room is to think of others, not be selfish. He is a really great man and a great goalkeeper. We'll focus on tomorrow, and whatever happens after the season, I'll have respect especially for him."Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Club World Cup 2025: How to watch the WHOLE tournament for FREE
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue. The Club World Cup will take place in the USA ahead of next summer's World Cup FREE CUP Club World Cup 2025: How to watch the WHOLE tournament for FREE Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Club World Cup will be the talk of the summer - with fans in the UK able to watch all the action for FREE. The tournament will take place over a month between June and July. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Inter Miami's Lionel Messi will be among some of the huge names on show in USA this summer Credit: Getty 3 Man City won the previous Club World Cup tournament in 2023 Credit: Getty 3 Kylian Mbappe will feature for Real Madrid in the Club World Cup Credit: EPA/Daniel Gonzalez Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cole Palmer and possibly Cristiano Ronaldo will be on show in USA this summer. Messi, alongside Luis Suarez and Co, will kick-off the tournament, as Inter Miami host Al Ahly FC at the Hard Rock Stadium in the tournament opener. The Premier League will be represented by Chelsea and Man City, with the Blues having won the competition in 2021, and the Citizens two years later in 2023. Pep Guardiola's side also come into the tournament as defending champions, as Real Madrid won the inaugural FIFA International Cup, which replaced the Club World Cup on the footballing calendar. How to watch the Club World Cup for FREE in the UK The Club World Cup will stream LIVE in DAZN for FREE in the UK. 23 matches from the tournament can also be watched on free-to-air Channel 5 and My5. The tournament will take place between Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, July 13. The first game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly FC will take place at 1am BST on Sunday, June 15 in the UK. The tournament will be live from the USA, ahead of the World Cup being held there in 2026. When is the Club World Cup 2025? The Club World Cup will take place over the course of a month between June and July. The tournament is set to kick-off on Saturday, June 14 from the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, As Inter Miami take on Al Ahly FC. The clash will be at 1am BST on Sunday, June 15 in the UK. The final of the tournament will be on Sunday, July 13 at 8pm BST from the MetLife Stadium in New York. WATCH EVERY MATCH OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 LIVE ON DAZN Who is in the Club World Cup 2025? Group A: Palmeiras, FC Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami Group B: PSG, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica Group D: Flamengo, Esperance Sportive de Tunisie, Chelsea, Club Leon Group E: River Plate, Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey, Inter Milan Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Florian Wirtz idolised Chelsea flop as Liverpool close in on £116m transfer
Incoming Liverpool star Florian Wirtz will have a lot of pressure to succeed after arriving as the most expensive Premier League player for £116.5m and his former ex-team-mates have been discussing when he burst onto the scene Florian Wirtz will be hoping to have a bigger impact on the Premier League in Liverpool red than his boyhood hero Marko Marin did wearing Chelsea blue. The champions' British record signing grew up idolising Marin when he first started showing his potential playing alongside older boys at Grun-Weiss Brauweiler, the junior club on the outskirts of Cologne where his dad Hans-Joachim acts as both the chairman and his youngest son's agent. When the Bosnia-born German international moved to Stamford Bridge from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2012 in a deal worth £6.5million, big things were expected of him. But he played just two Premier League starts for the Londoners and was loaned out to Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Trabzonspor before joining Olympiakos three years later. Marin was a hugely-talented attacking midfielder playing his best football with Bremen when Bundesliga rivals FC Koln launched a charm offensive to sign the precocious seven-year-old Wirtz in 2010. Club officials wanted to present him with a shirt bearing the name of his favourite player - and were stunned when the youngster name-checked Marin rather than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or German star Mesut Ozil. He still treasures the jersey. Liverpool have agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen that will see them pay £100million plus another £16million in add-ons to bring Wirtz to Anfield in a bid to improve a team that cruised to the title under Arne Slot in the Dutchman's first season. The 22-year-old is a team player who isn't afraid to push against the grain. Former team-mates at Brauweiler describe a personality who was always ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the collective. Benjamin Schwarz recalled: "Flo always gave his best for the team and always encouraged the other boys. Even at a young age that was very noticeable. He also always passed the ball to his team-mates even though he knew he was so much better than the rest of us." Bilal Ksiouar added: "When you played in the same team as Flo it was like you had one or two players more than the opposition. Even against older boys and better teams, he always stood out." Yet Wirtz caused a storm in the local area when he left Koln after 10 years in January 2020 to join Bayer Leverkusen. The two rivals had struck a pact not to poach each other's youth players, but Leverkusen felt that the outstanding promise being shown by the 16-year-old was something they just couldn't ignore. Rudi Voller, the legendary German striker who won the World Cup in 1990, was Leverkusen's technical director. He explained: "Failing to sign Wirtz at that age would have been negligent - and he was going to leave them when his contract expired that summer anyway." Wirtz continued his studies at his new club, getting top marks in advanced maths, advanced geography, German and biology. But within five months of moving to Leverkusen, at the age of just 17 years and 15 days, he made his Bundesliga debut against Werder Bremen and in doing so overtook Kai Havertz as the club's youngest-ever player. Even then he had a talent for producing the unexpected both on and off the pitch. Fans were shocked when he admitted that he always opted to play as rivals Bayern Munich during games of FIFA. And when asked who he admired most amongst his contemporaries, he named Joao Felix, the Portuguese striker who is now famous for being another big-money Chelsea misfit. "Joao Felix is a similar type of player to me," said Wirtz. "He's very creative and I learn a lot from him." Yet it was that same bloody-minded attitude that drove Wirtz into returning to fitness just 272 days after rupturing a cruciate ligament against old foes Koln in 2022, an injury that would force him to miss the World Cup. Club medics were constantly urging the midfielder to slow down, but Wirtz would turn up for rehabilitation sessions even when ordered to have a day off. With an attitude like that, he will fit straight in at Anfield. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Man Utd look at Bournemouth's Semenyo - Sunday's gossip
Manchester United look at options in case Bryan Mbuemo deal falls through, Arsenal still keen on Viktor Gyokeres, Mathys Tel poised for permanent move to United will turn their attentions to signing Bournemouth's Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, or Crystal Palace's England midfielder Eberechi Eze, 26, if they fail to land Brentford's Cameroon attacker Bryan Mbuemo, 25. (ESPN), externalArsenal are poised to return with another bid for Sporting's Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 27, with Atletico Madrid also interested in the player. Gyokeres has already ruled out a move to Manchester United. (Record - in Portuguese), externalTottenham Hotspur are expected to make the signing of Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel, 20, permanent following his loan spell, with the deal soon to be finalised. (Bild - in German), externalAC Milan have made contact with Valencia over a move for 22-year-old midfielder Javi Guerra (Calciomercato - in Italian), externalInter Milan are ready to listen to offers for midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, 31, with Galatasaray expressing interest in his signature. (Gazetta - in Italian), external Southampton are considering a move for Cologne's United States striker Damion Downs, 20. (Sky Germany), externalSet-piece coach Keith Andrews is a candidate to replace Thomas Frank as Brentford manager. (Talksport), externalSpanish attacking midfielder Fer Lopez, 21, has agreed to join Wolverhampton Wanderers from Celta Vigo but the clubs have still to agree a fee, with some confusion surrounding the player's release clause. (Diario AS - in Spanish), externalBayer Leverkusen want Netherlands forward Justin Kluivert after selling Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz, 22, to Liverpool and have approached Bournemouth about the 26-year-old's availability. (Mail), externalWest Ham have held talks over a move for Gambia forward Adama Bojang, 21, from French side Reims and could land the player for £11m. (Mirror), external Bournemouth have agreed a deal to sign defender Adrien Truffert, 23, from Rennes, which will allow the Cherries' Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, to complete his move to Liverpool. (ESPN), external Wolves are facing a battle to keep their Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira, with Benfica looking at a move to take him to Lisbon. (Sun), external
