Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has his say on Champions League plastic pitch

The artificial playing surface at Bern’s Stadion Wankdorf prompted the manager to change Villa’s normal routine for European fixtures with the squad flying out early on Monday afternoon to Switzerland in order to train at the venue.

Pep Guardiola, who faced Young Boys with Manchester City last season, has been among the former critics of the pitch but Emery is confident his team’s performance will not be affected.

“We are going to adapt,” he said. “We changed a little bit our usual way for playing in Europe.

“Normally we have a training session in Birmingham and travel. But we decided to come to train here to know and to adapt for the synthetic pitch.

“We’re ready and we won’t use it as an excuse. I think we can play with the same personality like we do at home.”

Emery’s comments were echoed by midfielder Youri Tielemans, who said: “I wouldn’t say there are concerns but in our careers, youth careers, we have all played on AstroTurf before.

“But it is true when you get used to Premier League pitches, good grass, it is different, that’s why we’re training here to get used to the surface and make sure it does not become an excuse.”