Leandro Bacuna has called on the "really strong" Christian Benteke to produce his best form in Aston Villa's FA Cup final with Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday.

The Belgian has looked a striker reborn in recent months after netting 12 goals in as many games since Tim Sherwood replaced Paul Lambert in February.

Benteke's red-hot form means that he is arguably the Villans' best hope of defying the odds and pipping Arsenal - who are vying for back-to-back FA Cup titles - to glory.

"If Christian is playing his best game physically, he is really strong and nobody can get the ball from him," Bacuna told The Guardian.

"That will be really important for us as a team – if he can hold up the ball and for us to get forward to try and get the ball to him and to other players to score the goals."

Benteke has netted 15 goals all season, having scored just three times prior to Sherwood's arrival.

Written by
Shane Callaghan