- Aston Villa signed off 2024 with a 2-2 thriller at home to Brighton
- Leicester's 2-0 home loss to Man City was a fourth straight defeat
- Recommended bet: Aston Villa to win & Both Teams to Score

Midlands rivals Aston Villa and Leicester clash at Villa Park with both looking to recover from sticky ends to 2024.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's Foxes take a four-game losing streak to Villa Park to face Champions League opponents who are struggling to stay in touch with the top four this season.

Team news

Striker Jhon Duran and wideman Morgan Rogers are both suspended which should mean Ollie Watkins leading the Villa line with Jacob Ramsey given a start.

Matty Cash returns from a ban to replace makeshift right-back Ezra Konsa, who will shuffle across in place of Pau Torres, who limped out of the 2-2 draw with Brighton. Tyrone Mings could make a second start of the season.

Leicester's hand is strengthened by the return of forward Jordan Ayew from a ban.

Other than that, Ruud van Nistelrooy is still missing Wilfred Ndidi, Kasey McAteer, Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu. Keeper Mads Hermansen remains a doubt although defender Wout Faes could be available after a knock.

The stats

Villa have conceded 31 goals, the worst of any side in the top half, while Leicester have conceded 42, the joint worst record of any side in the league.

Unai Emery's men have lost only one of their last 13 home fixtures.

Leicester have trailed at half-time in 12 of their 19 matches, more than any other team in the division.

Both teams have scored in 14 of the Foxes' 19 league matches.

Prediction

A wasteful Aston Villa had more than enough chances to put Brighton to bed comfortably but finished up rueing those misses as they had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

They did not lose but there was inevitable disappointment at the failure to win, especially as they had carved out so many opportunities.

What they need is an opponent who may well struggle to weather the inevitable Villa storm, and Leicester seem to represent the ideal guest.

The Foxes have dropped to 19th on the back of four straight losses, hardly a criminal sequence of flops given that three of their conquerors were Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester City.

That is a tough run of matches and this, for a side who have managed to keep only one clean sheet and none away, represents an equally tough ordeal.

Leicester look light at the back and Villa can punish them.

The Foxes do, however, have a decent knack of finding the net so the clever play may well be Villa to win with both teams scoring.

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