Emi Martinez was forced to miss Aston Villa’s Europa League clash with Feyenoord on Thursday night due to a calf injury
Unai Emery has given an update on the fitness of Emi Martinez ahead of Aston Villa’s Premier League match with Burnley this Sunday. They are aiming for their fourth consecutive win in all competitions this weekend, following a 2-0 triumph over Feyenoord in the Europa League at De Kuip on Thursday evening.
The victory in the Netherlands followed back-to-back home wins against Bologna and Fulham last week.
Martinez was absent from the Feyenoord match after sustaining a calf injury during the warm-up, with Marco Bizot stepping in to deliver an impressive performance in the Argentine’s absence.
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During Friday afternoon’s pre-match press briefing, boss Emery said of Martinez: “He’s just had a scan an hour before the press conference and I don’t know exactly now if he’s going to be available or not. I don’t know the scan result.
“But we are planning always to have players, two, three or four positions, and confidence to play with every player when they are available and when they are not.
“The players have to play with the same idea and the same way we are building the team.
“And Marco Bizot did it yesterday, a fantastic job, following the game plan, our idea and our demands on the field.
“Tomorrow we’ll know if Emi Martinez will be available.”
Meanwhile, Amadou Onana could return to the Villa squad to face Burnley according to Belgium manager Rudi Garcia, who has called the midfielder up to the his squad for this month’s internationals.
Having missed the last five weeks of action, Villa will be hoping Onana can get minutes under his belt for Belgium if he is fit to do so.
“Amadou Onana trained normally today,” Garcia claimed in his press conference. “He should also participate in this weekend’s match with Aston Villa. We will be able to evaluate him and get him back in shape given his lack of playing time due to injuries.”
Onana’s compatriot Youri Tielemans has not been included in Belgium’s squad to face North Macedonia and Wales.
Emery did not provide an update on Jadon Sancho in his pre-match media briefing, though Tyrone Mings is expected to miss the match through injury.
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
