Jurgen Klopp has hailed Unai Emery as exceptional as Aston Villa close in on Champions League qualification.
Klopp will take his Liverpool team to Villa Park on Monday night, a fixture that will see Aston Villa secure a top-four finish in the Premier League with a win.
Villa’s place in the Champions League could already be confirmed by Monday’s fixture, if Spurs fail to beat Burnley at the weekend.
Villa have not competed in Europe’s elite competition since the early eighties and a top-four finish would confirm qualification for the first time in the Champions League era.
At his pre-match press conference, Klopp said he is braced for a tough challenge in front of a raucous Villa Park crowd and hailed the work Unai Emery has done in transforming the club.
“It’s the last home game of the season for Aston Villa. They want to have a good last home game because they have had an incredible season. They have qualified, pretty likely, for the Champions League, which is a big one. This year Conference League, next year Champions League. An incredible job, but we will give it a try there definitely.
“Unai Emery is one of the best we have in the business, 100 percent, Wherever he is, success, sometimes the clubs were not ready to wait for it maybe. If you look back maybe these clubs would have made different decisions.
“I’ve known him for so long. I think when I met him for the first time he was managing in Moscow, if I’m right. That’s really long ago.
“He always had a clear idea. It was really tricky for us when we faced him with Villarreal. Always organised the team extremely well.
“The job he is doing is absolutely exceptional and we know how important it is for a club to qualify for the Champions League, how difficult it is for a club to qualify for the Champions League. He probably, very likely, will do that – it’s absolutely exceptional.”
