Marco Silva piles pressure on Unai Emery with cheeky Villa Park claim

Aston Villa host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday (12:30pm)

Fulham manager Marco Silva believes his side can capitalise on the pressure he expects Aston Villa supporters to place on their team this Saturday.

Villa need a win to maximise their chances of finishing in the top five, with only four matches remaining in the campaign.

Fulham, meanwhile, are also chasing European football, currently sitting eighth – a position that would secure a spot in the UEFA Conference League.

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A win over Villa this weekend would move Fulham to within three points of their rivals in the Premier League table, ahead of a final run of fixtures against Everton, Brentford, and Manchester City.

“[It is a] big, big game,” Silva said in his press conference. “Big, big game for us, and I really believe it’s a big game for Villa too. An amazing place to play football, a great environment to be in. The pressure from the Villa supporters is going to be big.

“It’s a great challenge for us, another great test. We really love to play in these types of games, and we need to step in and show our quality.

“We need to show why this is like another final for us, show why we’re only just behind them in the table – a team that achieved the quarter-finals of the Champions League, a team that attacked the market in January, showing the ambition that they have. They were able to sign players like Rashford, Malen and Asensio for the attacking line.

“We are talking about a team that showed their ambition, not just last pre-season, but in January by making five signings. They were really assertive and Unai is always talking about the solutions he has, and the competition he has in the squad.

“They have high quality all round their squad – and it’s going to be a great test for us. They are very well managed as well, with a clear idea of how they want to play. We have to play at our best. It’s a clear final for both sides and we need to show our quality and personality.”

Villa come into the game on the back of two disappointing results, against Man City in the league and then at Wembley last weekend where they lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Silva, however, rejected the notion that this is a good time to face Villa, who had won 10 of their 11 matches before travelling to the Etihad Stadium last week.

“They played so many Champions League games this season in a great way,” he continued. “We have to give all the credit to them, because it’s not easy playing at that level in the Champions League, against some of the best sides in Europe.

“They have been able to play a team in the Champions League and then rotate four or five players for the Premier League. They are one of the teams that can do this in a better way because they have eleven who play, and then seven, eight or nine who can come in and the level won’t drop. That shows the quality they have.”