Claudio Ranieri: Aston Villa clash will be "difficult"

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has insisted that his side will be in for a "difficult" game when they travel to bottom-placed Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The Foxes went level on points with league leaders Arsenal last night courtesy of their 1-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur.

However, despite the two teams at Villa Park having experienced different fortunes this term, Ranieri has stressed that Villa's victory last time out over Crystal Palace will have done wonders for their confidence.

"I believe only in the next match. I know the next match is tough, maybe tougher than Tottenham," the Italian told reporters.

"Aston Villa are a good team, I remember from our last meeting. The won their last match so now I want to see our mentality.

"They have two matches at home and want six points. They're confident now so it's difficult - more difficult than Tottenham."

When the clubs met at the King Power Stadium earlier in the campaign, Leicester overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2.