James: A lack of quality in the attacking third, specifically Mavididi, and a costly mistake at the back by James Justin resulted in another defeat. The rot has now carried through into another year. A new right-back, winger and striker are urgently needed in January, otherwise the Championship and the dark abyss beckons.

Follow live coverage as Aston Villa face Leicester City today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.

Aston Villa have started 2025 with their fourth win in five home matches as Unai Emery’s side defeated Leicester City 2-1 at Villa Park.

The Leicester City manager gives his thoughts on Leon Bailey's winner, which came from his side's right flank, with James Justin and Jordan Ayew not on the same wavelength

The defeat sees Leicester City stay 19th with 14 points, two behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th, while Unai Emery's Aston Villa move up to eighth on 32 points

Aston Villa got their Premier League top-four ambitions back on track with a 2-1 win over Leicester. Villa’s quest for a second successive year in the Champions League has been hamstrung by inconsistency this season,

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests. For week 20, he takes on The Zutons frontman Dave McCabe, who supports Liverpool. Aston Villa will be kicking themselves after conceding a late equaliser against Brighton.