EPL: Emery Hopes Villa To Recover UCL Berth

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery urged his side to put aside a tough week for the Premier League club where back-to-back defeats could potentially hurt their chances in Europe this season as well as next.

Villa lost 4-2 at home to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal on Thursday while Sunday's 1-0 league loss at Brighton & Hove Albion failed to put some distance between Emery's side and Tottenham Hotspur.

With Spurs losing at Liverpool later on Sunday, victory at Brighton would have clinched a Champions League spot for fourth-placed Villa, but the door remains slightly open for the London side who have a game in hand.

"We have to rest after a tough week... Now it's important to rest and recover some players, to recover some energy and go to Athens and then Villa Park trying to enjoy the moment we have," Emery said.

"We're motivated, we're deserving to enjoy this moment with our supporters and our fans. We competed well but it wasn't enough today to get some points. Even when we were in minute 75, I was thinking maybe this draw is fantastic for us because today we are not at full energy."