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Dean Smith urges Aston Villa to 'go toe-to-toe' with Manchester United

Dean Smith urges Aston Villa to 'go toe-to-toe' with Manchester United
© Reuters
Villa face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Dean Smith has challenged Aston Villa to prove they can match Manchester United.

Villa go to Old Trafford on Saturday with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side joint top of the Premier League.

Villa have lost twice to Chelsea, in the Premier League and Carabao Cup, this month but beat Everton 3-0 last weekend with Smith eager to see his men show their class.

He said: "Our job is to go there and go toe-to-toe with them like we did at Chelsea.

"The Chelsea Premier League game was the catalyst – we went toe-to-toe with them and created big chances. A mistake killed the game for us in that one.

"We took that positivity into the game against Everton and it was a bit of a chess game for 60 minutes but once we got our first goal it was all guns blazing and a comfortable win in the end.

"We feel like there's a lot of confidence and belief in the group and we feel like we've got a talented group, so there's no reason why there shouldn't be."

Smith is without Axel Tuanzebe, who cannot play against his parent club, Leon Bailey (quad) and Morgan Sanson (hamstring).

Sanson has made just 10 appearances since a £14million January move from Marseille and made his fourth Villa start in the Carabao Cup penalty defeat at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before being forced off.

Smith added: "It's really disappointing for Morgan and frustrating for him. He has had to battle away for the last four or five months with a knee injury. He gets over that and he built up minutes.

"He was ready to play against Chelsea and he was playing well. He just felt a twinge in his hamstring and it can happen to players who haven't had a full pre-season."

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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