Unai Emery has urged Aston Villa to “push our limits” by boosting their chances of automatic progress to the last 16 of the Champions League with a win against RB Leipzig. Villa, competing in Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 1983, can take a big step towards the knockout stages if they can defeat the Bundesliga side, who have failed to pick up a point after five games.

Villa arrived in Germany on the back of back-to-back Premier League wins and can return to winning ways on the continent after a surprise defeat at Club Brugge and a draw at home to Juventus. Emery said Villa must learn the lesson from the difficult trip to Belgium against Leipzig, another team considered underdogs despite playing in the Champions League in six of the last seven seasons and reaching the semi-finals four years ago under Julian Nagelsmann.

Emery said he was excited by the challenge of facing a team with everything on the line. “My desire to participate in this competition is based on how we can push our limit,” he said. “At the beginning we were more or less contenders for a place between eighth and 24th (in the table), but the possibility that we have to be in the top eight, (it’s about) how we can deal with that, how the players can react and demonstrate our capabilities. I want to play games like this because it is also good for our mentality, how we can handle a game like tomorrow and given the difficulties we face. If they don’t win tomorrow they might not have a chance of getting to the next round and for Leipzig they usually have the capacity, the players and the goal to be there.

Morgan Rogers, who made his England debut last month less than a year after joining Villa from second division side Middlesbrough, said he had enjoyed the move up the league and the challenge of staying in top form. The midfielder has established himself as a regular in Emery’s team and usually plays behind Ollie Watkins in attack, although Jhon Durán started and scored the winner in Saturday’s win over Southampton.

“I thought the Championship was tough but this is a whole new level,” said Rogers, who also represented Bournemouth and Blackpool in the division. “It’s about eating well, sleeping well and training properly. It’s about understanding your body better than anyone else.

“Everyone uses different things, but it’s about making sure you’re ready to go when the whistle blows. It’s about understanding your body and using it to your advantage.”

Emery said working with Watkins and Durán in attack would be his next challenge. “They are both very good strikers with different experiences,” said the Villa manager.

“Watkins is gaining more and more experience in the national team and in Europe, is consistent and competitive with everything we need on the field, and Durán has great potential and he is getting better and better.” He is doing much better now than he was two years ago. The next challenge I have is to play with both.”

Emery’s travel to his pre-match press conference at Red Bull Arena was slightly hampered by traffic caused by fans arriving at the arena opposite the stadium for a performance by heavy metal band Slipknot. Villa will be without Leon Bailey due to a minor hamstring injury, while Jacob Ramsey is close to returning to action after a hamstring injury sustained in the defeat to Liverpool last month.