Juventus coach Thiago Motta is not surprised that Unai Emery has enjoyed success at Aston Villa.

Motta's Juve side face Villa at Villa Park in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Villa won their opening three matches in the competition, though a defeat to Club Brugge last time out saw them relinquish top spot.

They have also had a stuttering start to the Premier League campaign, but given Villa were candidates to be in a relegation fight when Emery took over a little over two years ago, the transformation into one of Europe's best sides has been remarkable.

Motta, though, is not shocked.

"Like all the coaches I've had, I've tried to improve and learn," said Motta, who worked under Emery at Paris Saint-Germain.

"Emery is a coach who has been at a high level for a long time. He's showing his worth again at Aston Villa and doing it in a very difficult league.

"That's also why we will go into the game with great humility and determined to give a great performance."

Getting our energy  before heading to England  pic.twitter.com/iuTbwEwQFa

— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) November 26, 2024

This will be the third time Villa and Juventus have faced each other in the European Cup/Champions League, following two meetings in the 1982-83 quarter-finals.

Juventus won 5-2 on aggregate with victories in both legs, with the Italian side going on to finish as runners-up that season.

The Bianconeri head into Wednesday's clash unbeaten in Serie A, having drawn 0-0 with Milan over the weekend.

"Tomorrow we will face a great team and we will take the field determined to do our job," Motta said.

"We played well against Milan, controlling the game without giving them the chance to counter-attack.

"Tomorrow we'll play another side very good on the break, so we can't leave space for their attacking midfielders, we have to work together in defence and attack."

Dusan Vlahovic has been involved in five goals in his six away Champions League appearances for Juve (four goals, one assist), including at least one in his last three. However, the striker is one of several Bianconeri players who will be absent due to injury.

"Injuries aren't just happening to us and they're not happening by chance," Motta said.

"At this moment in time it wouldn't be constructive to find the reason behind them. We have to deal with the situation by giving that bit more."