Aston Villa will look to continue their recent run a form when they host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Aston Villa come into the game against Leicester City on the back of two consecutive victories. And they will be confident of grinding out all three points here. The West Midlands club have shown tremendous improvement since their managerial change, and they will be the favourites to pick up a victory here.
Meanwhile, Leicester City have lost four of their last five league matches, and Brendan Rodgers is under tremendous pressure to turn things around. It will be interesting to see if the Foxes can step up and produce a positive performance away from home.
Leicester are just one point above the relegation zone, and they cannot continue to keep dropping points if they wanted to preserve their status as a Premier League club. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will fancy their chances of pushing for European qualification and they are just three points adrift of sixth place.
Emery: “Tomorrow the match is very important, because it is the first opportunity for us to be in the top 10.”
That’s all for now, the full press conference will be available soon. 🟣 #AVLLEI pic.twitter.com/C62corOu6k
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 3, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Aston Villa
Aston Villa will be without the services of Diego Carlos, Jed Steer, and Bertrand Traore because of injuries against Leicester City. Unai Emery is likely to persist with his 4-4-2 formation, with Emiliano Martinez in goal.
Matty Cash and Alex Moreno are expected to start as the full-backs here, and they will look to add creativity from the wide areas and protect the central defenders. Ezri Konsa will partner Tyrone Mings at the heart of the Aston Villa defense.
Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia are expected to be deployed in the wide areas. And they will act as inverted playmakers. Meanwhile, in the middle of the park, Boubacar Kamara will partner with Douglas Luiz. Ollie Watkins is set to partner Leon Bailey in the strike partnership.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Ramsey, Kamara, Luiz, Buendia; Bailey, Watkins
Leicester City
Leicester City will be without James Justin, Ricardo Pereira, Ryan Bertrand, Boubakary Soumare, and Jonny Evans because of injuries against Aston Villa. Brendan Rodgers is likely to field his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Danny Ward in goal.
Timothy Castagne and Victor Kristiansen are likely to be deployed as the full-backs here, with Daniel Amartey partnering with Wout Faes in the middle of a back four.
Wilfred Ndidi will partner Nampalys Mendy in the midfield pivot. And the two players will look to shield the back four and break up the opposition play. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes will look to add creativity from the wide areas and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will be the central attacking midfielder here. Finally, Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to lead the line for Leicester City.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ward; Castagne, Amartey, Faes, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Mendy; Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes; Iheanacho
Key Stats
- Leicester City have failed to win their last five matches in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa have earned 16 points from seven league matches under Unai Emery, a tally only bettered by Arsenal’s 19 since the Spaniard’s first match in charge. They have won five of those seven games, as many victories as in their previous 24 attempts.
- Leicester have only taken one point from their five league games since the World Cup, conceding ten goals. The Foxes have dropped 19 points from winning positions this season, six more than any other team.
- James Maddison has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 17 Premier League starts, with 11 goals and seven assists.
- All five of Leon Bailey’s Premier League goals have been scored at Villa Park, with the last three coming in the opening seven minutes.
Player to Watch
Emiliano Buendia
The Argentine midfielder has done quite well in his recent outings, scoring twice in his last four starts. Buendia is likely to be afforded the time and space against a vulnerable Leicester City defense, and he could cause a lot of damage with his creativity and vision.
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City
The home side are undoubtedly the favourites here, and they should be able to pick up all three points. Aston Villa are unbeaten in five of their last six matches and they will be full of confidence and momentum heading into this game.
On the other hand, Leicester have failed to win their last five league matches and they are under a lot of pressure. The visitors are lacking in confidence right now, and they are likely to crash to yet another defeat away from home. The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 victory for Aston Villa.