Emery: United's greatness is still there

The Reds must recover from the Europa League final disappointment in midweek against a coach who knows that competition well. Victory for United would upset a Villa side determined to maintain their impressive run of form and earn a top-five spot that would gain entry to next season's Champions League.

Ahead of his first clash against Amorim's side, Emery expressed admiration for our Portuguese boss's pedigree, on the back of his excellent work at Sporting.

Although the Midlanders' motivation is high, he is expecting a response from United to the Bilbao showing.

"Always, [I expect] the best of them," he said of United during his pre-match press conference on Friday. "The best. The greatness of Manchester United is still there.

"The great coach they have is still there. He did a fantastic job in Sporting Lisbon, fantastic, and not for one year, not two years, not three years – consistently. When he arrived here, it was a difficult moment.

"They were in two competitions, as well as the FA Cup, but they were trying to be consistent and they chose, in one moment, for the Europa League because it was a great way through it to get their target to be in the Champions League. Only one of them in the final could achieve their objective, and they lost [to Tottenham Hotspur].

"But their greatness is still being there," he reasserted. "The coach is a great coach and the players are very good players.

“We have played here with Aston Villa for three years and I didn’t beat them here [at Old Trafford]. My respect is a massive respect for Manchester United, their players and for the coach.

“I expect the best of them because they will play honestly for the Premier League, for their supporters, to try and show their capacity to perform and to compete in the level they are.

“We will try and prepare as best as possible the match with our game-plan, with our focus, with our individual and collective performances we are having in the last matches. I am very positive, I am very excited. I am very motivated to enjoy the process we are in today, tomorrow, and on Sunday."