Unai Emery searching for 'balance' after Aston Villa's recent slump in form

Villa have fallen to four successive defeats in all competitions before the international break including back-to-back losses at Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool respectively in the Premier League. 

That double setback has seen Villa sink to ninth-place in the Premier League although they still sit just one-point adrift of the top four. 

They resume league action with the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday before welcoming European heavyweights Juventus to Villa Park next Wednesday.

Villa won their first three games in the Champions League against Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna but fell to eighth in the group stage after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge last time out. 

Emery has only lost three successive league matches just once during his Villa reign which came over 18 months ago in February 2023. 

And the Spaniard is searching for consistency to help his team compete again on all fronts after a blip in form of late.

He said: "We are building a team and we are trying to increase our level and demands. Of course, there is still a gap and distance to those teams in the Premier League like Liverpool, like Man City and even when we compete well, it is very difficult. 

"This year, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Fulham, Brentford, they compete well. Now we are not really imposing with those teams some distance in the table. 

"Only now is Liverpool. We played here (at Liverpool) before and we know their capacity and potential in a lot of things. We are trying to compete and be positive, to play here thinking how can we reduce the distance to face them and have the possibility to win.

"We did more or less this work here, but it was not enough. I accept it. My objective with the club and the team, we achieved before what we were thinking. 

"If we are increasing and improving as best as possible in our process and way, it is of course welcome. 

"We have to try to get the balance because maybe last year we achieved this level and this year we are not getting it at the moment. I am positive but we have to know how we are doing our way."