Pep Guardiola vs Unai Emery: How many times have they met and who has won more?

Manchester City are getting ready for a series of games that could prove decisive in their fate this season. In one week they will have one of the most important meetings so far, as they will travel to Spain to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League’s quarterfinals first leg. It will be a repeat of last year’s semifinals, with the English closing the tie in style by defeating Los Blancos 4-0 at Etihad Stadium after a draw (1-1) in the Spanish capital.

However, things are as interesting in the Premier League as in Europe. City are currently sitting third in the standings with 64 points, three behind leaders Liverpool.

The Citizens had the chance of getting closer to Jurgen Klopp’s men when they took on Arsenal last weekend, but Pep Guardiola’s players didn’t find the back of the net at home and they shared the spoils with Mikel Arteta’s side.

A win for the hosts would see them in the fight for the title, but a loss or even a draw could put City in trouble, as Liverpool and Arsenal are big favorites to come out on top against Sheffield United and Luton, respectively.

Guardiola vs Emery: the other clash

City will need to be at their best if they want to emerge victorious against Aston Villa, one of the standout teams of the league this campaign. The Villans are the fourth-best side so far, five points behind City.

One of the reasons for Villa’s good season in the domestic competition is Unai Emery. After taking the team to the seventh spot at the end of the 2022-23 season, the Spanish coach has improved the team’s numbers this term and has made Villa a solid side that can beat anyone in the league.

Moreover, Villa are also doing a good job in Europe. The team qualified for the Europa Conference League’s quarterfinals after comfortably eliminating Ajax in the round of 16 and will now face LOSC for a place among the four best teams of the tournament. The Hondarribia native already led Sevilla to win the Europa League three consecutive times and lifted the trophy again with Villarreal. Now he could keep making history by winning the Conference with Villa.

Guardiola and Emery are regarded as two of the most talented coaches in the world. It will be interesting to see their approach and tactics in such an important game for City and Villa.

They have met 14 times so far as coaches and while both men are very accomplished coaches, their head-to-head is pretty one-sided in favor of Guardiola. The Catalan coach has won nine of those encounters, while Emery has only been able to see his team win only once and there have been four draws.

Most of Guardiola’s wins over Emery happened when he was in charge of Barcelona, with six victories over Emery’s former club Valencia. As a Gunner, Emery lost the two games he played against City, while he lost one and won one with Aston Villa. The only win he has over Pep happened the last time they met in the Premier League, with Villa defeating City 1-0 last December.