Villa banking on home advantage against PSG, says Emery

Champions League - Aston Villa Press Conference - Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, Bodymoor Heath, Britain - Apr 14, 2025 Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Aston Villa must make home advantage count and draw energy from their supporters in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris St Germain at Villa Park on Tuesday, manager Unai Emery said.

Villa took the lead in the first leg through Morgan Rogers but PSG hit back through Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes on Wednesday to win 3-1.

"PSG have a lot of experience playing in away matches. They are playing in France and Europe and we have experience as well," Emery told reporters on Monday.

"But we will be connecting with our supporters and transmitting the energy... if we do, tactically and individually, good things on the field, the supporters are going to up our energy and help us a lot.

"They are going to transmit that energy always for our players."

Emery said Villa would stick to their gameplan, adding: "Our expectation is to get a good result of the second leg. Of course the fact that they won 3-1 is changing something. But a lot? No. Why? Because we have to win.

"We had to win with 2-1 and with 3-1 now. But now, we have to win with one more goal... We played how we wanted to in Paris but the result obviously wasn't what we hoped for. If we are winning, we can be close.

"Our objective is to play with one strong plan in our tactical way tomorrow and try to be consistent and try to understand how the match is going in 90 minutes."

The Spaniard said striker Ollie Watkins, who has started one of Villa's last five matches due to a knee issue, was in fine form despite his lack of minutes, pointing to his goal off the bench in a 3-0 Premier League win at Southampton on Saturday.

"He showed us he is feeling fantastic. He is scoring goals. He played 30 minutes performing really well (against Southampton)," Emery added.

"This is the variety we have with our players. We have to try to use their quality to help the team - be it 30 minutes, 10 minutes or five minutes. That is the mentality we need tomorrow."