Unai Emery declares Aston Villa prepared for everything ahead of Club Brugge battle

Villa head into Wednesday’s last-16 second leg against Club Brugge holding a 3-1 lead and are big favourites to progress, with the visitors looking to become only the second team to ever overturn a two-goal first leg deficit on the road in the competition's history.

But Emery has warned the tie is far from over and revealed his team are ready for extra time and penalties if required.

Asked about his approach to the match, with his team holding a two-goal lead, Emery replied: “Nothing changes. We are respecting them a lot. 

“We have our own experiences, myself or the players as well in their career. Anything could happen tomorrow. 

“Why? Because it's a football match and in 90 minutes a lot of things can happen. 

“The match can change so quick. We won there, but we won in the last minute in two actions we had. It's football.

“The respect of them (Brugge) is massive. The result is for us to follow the same game plan we had there. 

“We are going to play tomorrow 90 minutes. The second 90 minutes, the second leg. We are ready for 90 minutes to compete. We are ready in case it's extra time. And we are ready in case we will need a penalty shoot.

Emery continued: “The challenge is to achieve something as a club, something for the supporters, something for the history and something as well as a professional - players, the coaches, myself. 

“But to achieve it is facing the challenge tomorrow thinking everything can happen.”

Villa have been boosted by the return to fitness of Emi Martinez and Marco Asensio, after both missed Saturday’s 1-0 win at Brentford with muscle pain. Midfielder Amadou Onana is also back after more than a month out with a calf issue.

Asensio, a three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, has scored five goals in six appearances since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain for the rest of the season, including braces in each of the last two matches at Villa Park.

“I think the experience the players have is important,” said Emery. “But they have to use their experiences again doing something and the matches he played he is showing us as well. 

“His adaptation is going very well and he is adding to us his qualities, his mentality, his wishes, his choice to be here.

“Tomorrow is the next challenge we have with him and he has as well with us.”