Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has insisted that striker Christian Benteke has not had a down season.

The Belgium international has notched 10 goals in the current campaign, which is nine goals shy of his total of last season with 10 games left in the league year.

Lambert told Sky Sports News: "Christian is only a few goals behind last year. He's not behind that tally by many but everyone thinks he's off, or out of sorts or not the same player. But his goal return is pretty decent because he missed a good month for us earlier this season.

"If he keeps the form he showed in the last game against Norwich then he'll certainly be a handful. I don't need to motivate him or talk about 'second-season syndrome'."

Villa face Chelsea at Villa Park on Saturday.