Unai Emery made this striking Brendan Rodgers comment before Leicester City sacking

Unai Emery emphasised his respect and admiration for Brendan Rodgers less than 24 hours before the Northern Irishman was sacked by Leicester City. Aston Villa’s head coach didn’t comment on the likelihood of Rodgers being relieved of his duties but he was full of praise for the former Liverpool and Celtic man following Villa’s win at Chelsea.

Only two months ago, at the start of February, Leicester came to Villa Park and thrashed Emery’s team 4-2. Rodgers approached the game with the right tactics as he ensured the likes of Tetê and Kelechi Iheanacho pressed The Villans’ back line, knowing at that stage they were still uncomfortable with passing out from defence.

That particular result - and a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur a week later - bought Rodgers more time in the hot seat at the King Power Stadium, but five defeats in the next six were enough for him to be axed. Down in 19th place in the Premier League, it’s understandable that Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha made the call. But Emery still has faith in Rodgers.

“I know him long years ago and his performances as a coach were fantastic,” Emery said of Rodgers on Saturday. “He’s very intelligent, the teams play very good football. They beat us two months ago playing very well but now they are struggling. I don’t exactly know why [they are struggling], but I respect him a lot,” Emery continued.

The sacking came at an ironic time as The Villans now face a trip to Leicester on Tuesday night. Emery will not be reunited with Rodgers in the dugout but rather Adam Sadler, who has taken over as caretaker manager. Villa can soar up to as high as sixth in the table with a win, whereas Leicester can go up to 13th.