Dean Smith has called on Aston Villa to ‘exorcise some demons’ against Leicester City on Sunday night.
While his side beat the Foxes over two legs to reach the Carabao Cup Final last season, they lost both league games to Leicester by an aggregate scoreline of 8-1.
And ahead of this weekend’s clash at the King Power, Smith is wary of a team that have won three of their first four Premier League games.
He said: “We have to be very respectful of a team that’s gone to Manchester City and won 5-2. We won 7-2 against Liverpool, so there are two teams there that are very good.
“We’ve been stung there [the King Power] a couple of times last season and we have to make sure we continue our level of performance on Sunday.
“We have to be at our best. The last time we played there we got beat 4-0 just before lockdown.
“We’ve started the season well, there’s confidence within the group and a belief that we’re better this season. It’s a tough game but one we’re looking forward to.”
Villa are looking to win their first four league games for the first time since the 1930/31 season, having already beaten Sheffield United, Fulham and Liverpool.
Smith believes his team are a stronger unit than they were last season, and he’s keen for the team to prove it on the pitch against Leicester.
“Momentum is key. There’s an awful lot of belief in the team. There’s a lot of quality in the team as well and I think that performance against Liverpool proved that,” he said.
“But if we want to be talked about in glowing terms, then you have to make sure you maintain that.
“We’ve got a really tough game against Leicester where we want to exorcise some demons that occurred pre-lockdown.”