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Aston Villa logo
Premier League | Gameweek 25
Feb 21, 2021 at 2.05pm UK
Villa Park
Leicester logo

Aston Villa
1 - 2
Leicester

Traore (48')
Luiz (51'), Elmohamady (59')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Maddison (19'), Barnes (23')
Ndidi (34')

Preview: Aston Villa vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Leicester City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Aston Villa play host to Leicester City on Sunday afternoon looking for the win which would keep the club in the hunt for the Champions League places.

While Villa begin the weekend in eighth position in the Premier League table, the visitors make the short trip to the West Midlands in third spot after beating Liverpool last weekend.


Match preview

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers pictured in February 2021© Reuters

Despite having to contend with a number of injury issues, Brendan Rodgers made the decision to select a full-strength side for their Europa League fixture with Slavia Prague.

However, the calculated gamble failed to pay off as the Foxes were held to a goalless draw, effectively leaving Rodgers to take a similar approach in the second leg next Thursday.

With a top-four spot in the Premier League still being the club's main priority, Rodgers is unlikely to rest any of his key men for a meeting with one of their rivals.

Aside from their late burst against Liverpool, the Foxes have struggled in the final third of late, a period which has coincided with Jamie Vardy still getting back up to speed after hernia surgery.

Nevertheless, Rodgers will be delighted with how his team have performed in defensive areas while having to contend with injuries to Wesley Fofana and James Justin.

Facing Villa on away territory on two-and-a-half days rest represents a different challenge for the Foxes, particularly with Villa having kept back-to-back clean sheets.

While Dean Smith's team produced one of their worst performances of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, they were still able to earn a share of the spoils.

Still possessing matches in hand ahead of a favourable fixture list, Villa will be optimistic that they can make quick headway up the table in the coming weeks.

Despite having a hand in 16 Premier League goals this season, Jack Grealish has netted just once in all competitions since the end of November.

Aston Villa Premier League form: WLWLWD

Leicester City Premier League form: WDLWDW
Leicester City form (all competitions): LWDWWD



Team News

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith pictured in February 2021© Reuters

Smith could finally hand a first Villa start to Morgan Sanson after his switch from Marseille in January.

While the Frenchman could replace Ross Barkley, Ahmed Elmohamady is in line to come in for the injured Matty Cash at right-back.

Ricardo Pereira will return to the Leicester starting lineup after being rested for the trip to the Czech Republic.

Whether the full-back features on the right or left will depend on the fitness of Timothy Castagne, who also missed out earlier this week.

Ayoze Perez has recently joined Fofana, Justin and Dennis Praet on the sidelines with a knee problem.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Sanson, Luiz, McGinn; Traore, Watkins, Grealish

Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Castagne; Ndidi, Tielemans; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy


SM words green background

We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Leicester City

While Leicester are the marginal favourites to prevail on Sunday afternoon, we cannot ignore their efforts in midweek. With Rodgers having played a full-strength side, expect Villa to match the visitors in a contest which could end all square after a hard-fought battle.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data


Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:


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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 52.79%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Aston Villa had a probability of 23.46%.

The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.74%) and 0-2 (9.08%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.24%), while for an Aston Villa win it was 1-0 (6.5%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Leicester City would win this match.


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Leicester City's James Justin pictured in November 2020
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


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