Unai Emery says Spurs are ‘favourites’ to beat Aston Villa

Unai Emery insists Tottenham have a better chance of finishing in the top four in the Premier League than his Aston Villa side this season.

Villa visit north London on Sunday having made a bright start to the campaign with a five-point lead.

They have also topped Spurs in the table the last two seasons, but the Spaniard says Tottenham’s budget means they are favorites for the tie and will finish above them in the league.

“They are our favorites this season and favorites for Sunday’s match,” he said.

“But we compete and are confident in how we do things our way.

“We’re trying to compete with teams like Tottenham, Chelsea or Newcastle, competing with them in the top seven, top six, it’s a really great match.

“They have more opponents than us, we have some advantage in the table, but after Sunday’s match everything could be different. I hope we can compete and control the game.

“They are favorites for Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle. But we exist and hopefully we can keep it for a long time.”

Asked why they were favourites, Emery replied: “For starters, how can we list favorites with a budget, of course the budget is not enough to be favourites.

“But the difference between them and us is still big. But we, of course, don’t think about it.

“But I have to tell everyone that there are still seven teams in front of us with a budget in the beginning, but we are competing and in the last two years we are gradually getting better and maintaining the same level that we are trying to set. as a goal.”

Midfielder Ross Barkley is the only player missing with a “minor injury” that will keep him out until the next international break.

“We only trained with some players today,” Emery said. “The rest of the players were resting. Today was good, tomorrow morning we will train again.

“We only had one player injured – Ross Barkley. He has a minor injury. It will not be available for the next two weeks.

“The rest are available and fully ready for Sunday.”