Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says he knows exactly what to expect from Aston Villa when they come to Portman Road on Sunday (2pm ko).
The Midlands club have hit new heights in recent times, finishing fourth in the Premier League last season to qualify for the Champions League.
Unai Emery's men arrive in Suffolk having won six of their opening seven games across all competitions at the start of 2024/25 and will be motivated to keep that momentum going ahead of a home clash with Bayern Munich next Wednesday.
"I have to say he’s a manager that I admire a lot," said McKenna. "I’ve studied his teams for a lot of years, having come up against his Arsenal and Villarreal teams a few times (when assistant manager at Manchester United).
“He took Villarreal to winning the Europa League and deep into the Champions League. That was a team with fantastic structure on and off the ball and really clear patterns of play. I think the ingredients that he’s put into this Aston Villa team are similar, just probably with a higher athletic calibre of player.
“I really enjoy watching them play. We share some principles, I think, in terms of how both teams are set up.
"We’ve had a good amount of time to prepare for this game. That doesn’t make it any easier, but I think everyone’s clear on their threats, what we’re going to have to do to limit them and also where we think we can go and hurt them.
“We feel like we know the opposition pretty well. It’s up to us now to do everything we can to make it a very difficult game for them. It will be a great test for us and we’re looking forward to it."
Villa's attack is spearheaded by England international Ollie Watkins, a player who has been directly involved in 57 Premier League goals (20 assists, 37 scored) since the start of the 2022/23 season.
“He’s a fantastic striker, it’s clear what his strengths are, and the team are set up to utilise them really well," enthused McKenna.
“He’s obviously one of the best strikers in the league, probably in Europe, playing on the last shoulder and running onto through balls. And Aston Villa are the team that play the most through balls in the league.
"They build up short well and you need to commit bodies to press them higher or else you won’t get the ball back, but when you do that then you leave forwards who are good in big spaces and one-v-one situations. It’s very clear what they do and he’s a big part of that.
“It’s a balance between pressurising their build-up to try and get regains and score, but also making sure you are covered against the pace and one-v-one threats they have on the top line. That’s why they are scoring a lot of goals. It’s a good challenge for us."
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