Dean Smith is expecting a tough game when Leicester City visit Villa Park in the Premier League on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers’ team beat reigning champions Liverpool last time out as they continued their title challenge.
The Aston Villa head coach rates the Foxes highly and says it’s no surprise to see them challenging at the top of the table.
He said: “I had them down as Champions League qualifiers last year and if it wasn’t for Lockdown, I think they would have been. The break hindered them and they missed out on the last day.
“They’re having a very good campaign again and I expect that with Brendan in charge. Very good coach and very good players is a recipe for success.
“It’s no surprise to me how well they’re doing. We had a really close game against them at the King Power, where we managed to score in the last minute and take all three points.
“I expect a really tough encounter again.”
Having beaten the Foxes courtesy of a late Ross Barkley goal in the reverse fixture, Smith will be without one of the mainstays of his team as he plots Leicester’s downfall this time.
Matty Cash has been ruled out after picking up an injury versus Brighton on Saturday, but Smith is optimistic Villa can continue to flourish despite his absence.
“It’s been a really incredible season for different reasons,” he said.
“The fact that we beat the champions 7-2 at home, that we’ve done the double over Arsenal for the first time in a long time.
“We’re really competitive in every game that we play now, and the fans will have really taken to a number of our new players.”
You can hear more from Smith on a wide-range of topics in his interview with VillaTV below…
