Claims that the Premier League is the biggest, strongest and most popular competition in the world are now so frequently heard that they have become almost commonplace. But my experiences covering some Villa matches in Europe over the past year – and reporting on Wolves in the Europa League five seasons ago – were a startling demonstration to casual footballers that this really is how many fans abroad see it.

We of course know Villa’s great history, but until their rise to prominence under Emery, one would imagine that the younger generations of European fans who follow the Premier League might not have known much about Villa. There was no doubt, however, that when Villa came to town last season, from Warsaw to Amsterdam to Piraeus, you could feel the buzz. People came to watch the Premier League roadshow, and you could sense that their opponents were particularly excited for the occasion, the same emotions that have driven FA Cup underdog teams for generations.

This brought the same perils. At their best, Villa were probably good enough to have won the Conference League last season, but fell short against Legia Warsaw and Olympiakos, teams less loved and excited by their fans. There was no doubt that they considered this a giant slaughter and celebrated accordingly.

When Unai Emery talks about Villa’s Conference League experiences being their most relevant source of learning for this campaign, that’s probably what he means. “The away games were very difficult,” he said last night in Bruges. “Playing against some of the England teams like us… they are very motivated. Maybe we can feel something like when we played against Bayern Munich at home, what we felt with our fans and our motivation, playing 100% focused and very intense and competitive… maybe Bruges will be the same thing.

Villa are now better equipped to meet these challenges, having made some smart signings and bringing back players from long-term injuries. Team rotation is no longer at risk of a significant drop in performance, and tired players do not need to be pushed to their limits due to the limited number of credible alternatives. In the only away match so far, in Bern, Emery sent a very strong team, and they won easily.

Qualification among the top 24 is already almost assured; So, true to form, Emery spoke last night about what it would take to reach the top eight, even if his team was “not favourite” to be there. This is his method: as Villa climbs, he keeps looking up a little further.

Listen to the full commentary for Club Brugge against Aston Villa on Wednesday at 5.45pm on BBC Radio WM.

Connect with West Midlands Football Phone Call from 6:00 p.m. weekday evenings