Gerrard's impressive start to outfox Leicester

New manager bounce to continue

Steven Gerrard has overseen an impressive start to life at Villa Park. Wins in his first two games against Brighton and Crystal Palace was followed by a narrow loss to Man City. 2-1 to the champions was an impressive performance by the Villains, a game in which they arguably had the better of the chances. If it wasn't for Ederson's inspired performance, it could've been a different story for Gerrard's side. However, Villa still sit 13th in the league and are having a tough time of it this season. While there were positives in the City game for Gerrard to mull over, it handed them their eighth loss of the season in their 14 games. Only Watford have lost more games than Villa this season, a real indication of their struggles this campaign. But Gerrard's impact has certainly improved the general intensity of the side, benefitting the likes of Ollie Watkins massively. They have a very good chance to take advantage of a side having similar struggles this season.

Foxes sliding down the table

A 2-2 draw is the best that Brendan Rodgers side could muster in mid week against Southampton. Leicester had to come back from behind twice against the Saints. An impressive goal from James Maddison shortly into the second half meant that the spoils were shared. Despite pre-season expectations that Leicester would once again be challenging for the top four spots, recent injury struggles and general poor form has led to the Foxes sitting down in 10th with just 19 points to their name. While they're just five points off of West Ham in 4th spot, just two wins in their last six games represents a missed opportunity for Leicester to fly up the table. Going into a very busy Christmas period now, it's critical for Leicester to pick up points in games like these if they're to stay in touching distance of the European spots. If not, it could be an uncertain future for Brendan Rodgers with top teams rumoured to be looking at the Welshman to bring in as manager.

This should be a goalscoring game, with both sides having ambitions beyond their current league positions. With their new manager mojo in full swing however, I can see Villa edging this one in a close contest. That's why I'm going with an Aston Villa win with bet365.

Bet Aston Villa to win on Bet365