Emery: Top eight in Europa League 'a minimum' for Aston Villa

Unai Emery says Aston Villa must target a top-eight finish in the Europa League as a minimum ahead of their meeting with Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.

Villa are currently 10th in the table; having won their first two matches against Bologna and Feyenoord, they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in their last outing.

Emery's side are only three points off the top of the table but know a win could push them into the top eight at the halfway stage of the league phase.

This match will be played three years to the day of Emery's first game in charge of Villa – they have won 12 of their 14 home European games (including qualifiers, D1 L1) under the Spaniard.

They have won all four in 2025 (three in the Champions League last season, 1-0 v Bologna this season).

And Emery is keen to avoid having to participate in the play-offs for the knockout round, just as they did in the Champions League last season.

"The only idea is to be the first in the table, but with our experience three years ago in the Conference League and last year in the Champions League and how we were managing in different moments – the process," Emery said in his press conference.

"Our objective is to win every match, but we lost one. There is another team in front of us, and we have to try to get three points to be contenders to be in the top eight and to avoid the play-off.

"It is difficult, and we have to be aware of how we lost the last match against Go Ahead Eagles and how we must correct things. It will be different at home.

"This is the real objective to win [on Thursday] and in the top eight minimum."

Despite their current position, Villa are favourites to win the Europa League this season, according to the Opta supercomputer, with a 30% chance of lifting the trophy.

Their closest challengers, Lyon and Lille, are both given 8% chances of winning the competition.

Villa are overwhelming favourites to win on Thursday, with the supercomputer giving them an 81% chance of victory. Tel Aviv, who have lost nine of their last 12 major European matches (W2 D1), won just 7.3% of the pre-match simulations.

"It is difficult to say who is the favourite," Emery added. "To win this competition is very difficult, and so is winning one team. Of course, our wishes are to win this competition, but we have to focus in the process we are doing.

"We have to focus each match and respect the competition.

"We lost at Go Ahead Eagles three weeks ago, and they showed us how we can lose matches if we are not respecting 100% and focused 100%. If we don't respect the team and the competition, we are not going to win.

"This is the circumstance sometimes if we are not respecting every team. This is a lesson. In this process, we are being demanding, individually and collectively, like we are in the last years."

It was announced on Wednesday that Villa captain John McGinn has signed a new deal with the club, committing his future through to June 2028.

McGinn signed for the club from Hibernian in 2019 and has since made 256 appearances in all competitions, with Emery hailing the Scot's impact.

"In those three years we have been together, he has shown us and me how he is leading the team in all moments," Emery said of McGinn.

"The most important thing is how he is responding on the field, and on the field, he is responding very well.

"He can play as a midfielder, as a winger, and his commitment to Aston Villa is a huge commitment. Before I arrived here and since I arrived, he has shown me for the next years he is going to be an important player for us."