Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill insists there's no animosity towards Liverpool's Rafa Benitez after his aggressive pursuit of Gareth Barry last summer.

O'Neill said: "When we played at Villa Park in our first game, we shook hands, and it will be the same on Sunday. We have to respect each other and I have no problem with that.

"I'm more concerned about taking three points, because if we can beat Villa we would be in a fantastic position. It would keep us in the title race and give us more confidence than ever.

"We have to do that first, though, and I had to remind the players about how we will have to be on top of our game. At the start of training, they were talking about being drawn against Chelsea in the Champions League and I said to them, 'Listen, forget Chelsea and get your minds on Villa'.

"It will need all our focus to beat them because it is clear they are having a great season."