Important Southampton match cannot be overlooked by Aston Villa | OneFootball

After a rough week for Aston Villa, Unai Emery is faced with the difficulty of keeping the focus on the next task at hand. Most would say that Southampton are going to be the decided underdogs on Saturday. As is always the case in the Premier League, though, approaching any game without 100% commitment only leaves room for something disastrous to happen.

Overlooking an opponent means not respecting the sport and is also self-defeating. Particularly after coming off a poor performance, the upcoming EPL fixture is a chance to get back on track. This is certainly not the time for Villa to go into cruise control and allow the Saints to make something of the afternoon and potentially take points off AVFC.

Knowing how Emery operates, this will not be too much of a concern. If anything, the Spaniard will double down on his intensity. He has gotten a lot of the latest maneuvers right over the past few months, and his latest approach in Paris nearly paid off the way he would have ideally liked.

That needs to now be put into the rearview mirror as an important finish to the Prem campaign becomes the focal point of the club moving forward. It will be important to avoid a further immediate setback against a relegation-bound team that only barely managed to earn double-digit points.

Emery knows that his side did not perform well. He will also believe that Wednesday's CL match was not a true reflection of what Villa are capable of. Heading into Tuesday, the Villans will like their chances to make this close. The immediate focus, however, is on the immediate EPL match.

Important aspect to watch for from Aston Villa on Saturday

It's unknown how the Spaniard will line up for either fixture. Considering the schedule and depth, the boss could rotate a lot of the starting XI again. He could conversely feel the need for the same lineup to begin and set the tone against Southampton as well.

Regardless of whom he ends up selecting, the quality needs to be displayed. For a side that just got outclassed, Villa will want to right the wrong, and it begins with a strong performance on Saturday. Aston Villa has the chance to be an incredible force in Europe. To ensure that the past CL game was only a temporary setback, they will need to put this one out of hand early.