Overview
After a 2-1 win over Man City in round 17 of the Premier League, Aston Villa suffered a 0-3 defeat against Newcastle and were held to a draw at home by Brighton. Notably, the defeat against Newcastle also had a major impact on Villa as Jhon Duran was suspended for 3 matches.
The absence of Duran will certainly leave a big gap in Aston Villa's attack, as this player is leading their scoring list with 12 goals. However, coach Unai Emery still has other quality names such as Ollie Watkins or Morgan Rogers.
Meanwhile, Leicester City is the team with the second worst defense in the Premier League this season. They have conceded 42 goals after only 19 rounds. Of which, in the last 10 matches, they had to pick the ball out of the net 27 times. The sloppy defense is the direct cause of their only 14 points, ranking second to last after the first leg ended.
The Foxes' attack has not been too bad, having scored 22 goals. If they take advantage of their opportunities, they are fully capable of scoring against Aston Villa, as the home team's defense is not very solid (31 goals conceded). However, the balance of power is still tilted towards Villa.
After beating Leicester 2-1 at the King Power earlier this season, Aston Villa will be looking to get the better of their opponents at home. In the last 10 meetings, Aston Villa have the better record with 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
Human resources situation
As mentioned above, Aston Villa's Jhon Duran is still serving a suspension. However, Matty Cash will return for the home side.
On the other side of the front line, Jordan Ayew was unable to play in the match against Man City due to receiving 5 yellow cards. This player is expected to return to the starting lineup for Leicester.
Expected lineup:
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Digne, McGinn, Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins.
Leicester: Stolarczyk, Justin, Okoli, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Winks, Soumare, Ayew, Buonanotte, Mavididi, Vardy.
The match between Aston Villa and Leicester City takes place at 22:00 on January 4 (Vietnam time).
