Unai Emery will be delighted with Premier League announcement ahead of Liverpool vs Aston Villa
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Credit: Imago Wed 13 May 2026 17:56, UK Unai Emery will be pleased to see Chris Kavanagh in charge of Aston Villa’s trip to Liverpool on Friday night. Emery will hope Villa’s form will be enough to at least win one of the three, which would be enough to confirm a return to Europe’s premium competition. ⚽ Aston Villa Matchday ⚽ Team news, line-ups, expert previews and tactical analysis for every Aston Villa fixture.
Emery’s team hosted Newcastle United in the FA Cup in February in a game played without VAR, with it quickly becoming clear why the technology is needed.Kavanagh got the decision to send Marco Bizot off right, but that was where the punishment on Villa stopped.Firstly, Tammy Abraham’s opening goal was allowed despite having been clearly offside – a problem for the linesman, rather than the referee.But the man in the middle missed a red card for Lucas Digne for a nasty tackle on Jacob Murphy, and in undoubtedly the worst decision, Kavanagh inexplicably gave a free kick for the left-back’s handball offence that had been well inside the penalty box.Newcastle would ultimately have justice when they won 3-1, and speaking after the game, Emery admitted: “Today VAR makes sense. VAR is necessary to help the referees.”Villa’s recent record when refereed by KavanaghBefore February’s FA Cup clash, Villa were unbeaten in four games officiated by Kavanagh.
In total under Emery, the Villans have lost just two of eight games across all competitions when refereed by the Englishman.But wins have not been massively common, too, with just three of them since the Spaniard has been in the dugout.Chris Kavanagh will be the referee for this weekend's Premier League fixture between Aston Villa and Liverpool.Villa have won just 𝐎𝐍𝐄 of their last 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 with Kavanagh in charge in the PL.Neil Davies will be on VAR duty for the game.#AVFC | #LFC pic.twitter.com/T4aki6vo5Q— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) May 12, 2026 View Tweet Kavanagh will hope to keep out of the headlines on Friday, and the Villa manager will also hope for the same as his team look to build some momentum. There may even be some suspicion that last week’s events could play on the 40-year-old’s mind, although Friday’s game presents far lower stakes. 🦁 ASTON VILLA INSIDER UPDATE 🦁 Get the inside track on the Villa Park dugout, transfer strategy, player wages, and technical leadership at Bodymoor Heath.