Kamara previews UCL Matchday 3

Boubacar Kamara has spoken of his happiness at Aston Villa ahead of our UEFA Champions League tie against Viking.

The midfielder is back to his best again this season, starting 10 of the club’s opening 11 matches including the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg.

It comes after Kamara returned to first-team action in pre-season having been sidelined since mid-January with his second knee ligament injury in two years.

Asked how he now feels, Kamara said: “After this long injury, I feel good.

“I’ve had time to recover my fitness, the routine of training and games

“Now I feel better, my recovery is better after games, so I’m happy.”

The Frenchman, 26, has come back to a new-look Villa squad following a summer of change at Bodymoor Heath.

And Kamara is excited by the fresh faces in the dressing room.

“A lot of change, a lot of important players left, but we are happy with the new players,” he said.

“They are fantastic, they work a lot to understand how the manager wants to play.

“We are happy.”

Kamara was speaking at Tuesday afternoon’s pre-match media conference to preview our Matchday 3 clash at home to Viking.

Villa host the Norwegian champions having picked up a maximum six points across our opening two matches against Club Brugge and Fenerbahçe.

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Villa are looking to win four consecutive games in the European Cup / Champions League for the first time in our history, while bidding to become the second fastest team to reach 20 victories in Europe’s elite club competition (in our 30th match), behind only Real Madrid (won 20 of first 29).

Unai Emery was also speaking to media on the eve of the encounter and was glowing in his praise for Kamara. 

“He was so, so unlucky,” said the Villa boss.

“He had two very hard injuries for a long time, but he came back strongly the first time, and now the second time, progressively as well, he’s getting again his fitness.

“A lot of things he improved. He was learning, the first two years we were working was really fantastic.

“But I am expecting, again, the best Bouba, with his qualities, his maturity.

“He is intelligent, he is a good professional, so he has a lot of positive things to improve and to get his best for the next weeks, month, years, hopefully with us, and of course, for his career.”