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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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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea75111531216
2Liverpool74301761115
3Manchester CityMan City74211431114
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd7421146814
5Everton7421138514
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton742185314
7Brentford7331106412
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs7403610-412
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham73221410411
10Aston Villa7313109110
11Arsenal7313510-510
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves730456-19
13Leicester CityLeicester7223912-38
14Crystal Palace7142811-37
15Watford7214710-37
16Leeds UnitedLeeds7133714-76
17Southampton7043510-54
18Burnley7034511-63
19Newcastle UnitedNewcastle7034816-83
20Norwich CityNorwich7016216-141

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