Aston Villa will head to Leicester City on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them move out of the Premier League relegation zone with a game in hand.

Dean Smith's side are currently 19th in the table but sit just two points from the safety of 17th and will be looking to overcome a Leicester side that are without a league victory since January 22.

Match preview

Leicester City's James Maddison pictured on February 27, 2020 © Reuters

Leicester deserve huge respect for what they have achieved this season, and the Foxes will still occupy third position heading into Monday's clash at the King Power Stadium regardless of what happens on Sunday.

Indeed, a record of 15 wins, five draws and eight defeats from their 28 matches has left them with 50 points, but Brendan Rodgers's side are without a victory in their last four in the Premier League.

Not since a 4-1 success over West Ham United on January 22 have they triumphed in England's top flight, collecting just two points from the last 12 available, suffering successive defeats in the process.

Both Manchester City and Norwich City have beaten them 1-0 in their last two league outings, although the Foxes did manage to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Birmingham City on Wednesday.

Leicester have also only won one of their last four meetings with Villa in all competitions and were knocked out of the EFL Cup in the semi-finals by their opponents in this match.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith on February 1, 2020 © Reuters

Saturday's results were kind for Villa as West Ham United, Watford, Norwich and Southampton all lost, while Brighton & Hove Albion were held to a goalless draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Smith's team are still 19th in the table but are only two points from 16th-placed West Ham and would therefore move above the Hammers should they manage to triumph in this game.

It is also worth considering that Villa currently have two games in hand on the teams around them having been involved in the EFL Cup final against Manchester City last weekend, suffering a 2-1 loss.

The former Championship club have been beaten in their last three in the Premier League, though, losing to Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton since the start of February.

Villa will face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in three of their four league matches after this one, meanwhile, which is an indication of the importance of Monday's clash.

Leicester Premier League form: LWDDLL
Leicester form (all competitions): LDDLLW

Aston Villa Premier League form: LDWLLL
Aston Villa form (all competitions): WWLLLL

Team News

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy holds his injured glutes on January 22, 2020 © Reuters

Jamie Vardy has missed Leicester's last two matches with a calf problem, but the club's leading scorer should be available for Monday's contest having returned to training.

England international Ben Chilwell is also expected to overcome a hamstring complaint to start, but Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy remain unavailable for selection.

Wilfred Ndidi started against Birmingham having recovered from a knee injury and should again make the XI for this match, while Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes are expected to feature in the wide positions.

As for Villa, Tom Heaton, Wesley and Jed Steer remain on the sidelines, while the match will also come too soon for key midfielder John McGinn despite the Scot making progress in his recovery from an ankle injury.

Experienced goalkeeper Pepe Reina was left out against Man City last weekend but should return between the sticks, while Trezeguet could be handed a spot in the starting XI.

January signing Mbwana Samatta has scored twice in five appearances since arriving at Villa Park, and the 27-year-old will again lead the line with support from an in-form Jack Grealish.

Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Ricardo, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Perez, Praet, Ndidi, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Reina; Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett; Nakamba, Luiz; Trezeguet, Grealish, El Ghazi; Samatta

We say: Leicester 2-1 Aston Villa

Leicester's form has not exactly been terrific in recent weeks, but the Foxes are due a win. Villa played well against Man City in the EFL Cup final but have the second-worst away record in the Premier League this season. As a result, we are finding it hard to back against the hosts, who should have enough to triumph.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a win with a probability of 63.67%. A draw had a probability of 19.7% and a win for had a probability of 16.67%.

The most likely scoreline for a win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.88%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.69%) and 1-0 (8.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.09%), while for a win it was 1-2 (4.64%).