Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has defended the form of captain John McGinn.

While Aston Villa have made a slow start to the Premier League season, captain McGinn has been under the microscope, which Gerrard believes is unfair. McGinn has started all nine of the club's matches to date, but he has also been subbed off in five of those games.

"In terms of how John feels for the responsibility and pressure of getting that honour [of captaincy] it's a question you should fire at John," Gerrard said. "I see John working extremely hard and fighting to get himself back in better form.

"He's probably one of the players we've been discussing (favourites), without naming names... but he gives the team an awful lot more than what people see.

"If people are judging him on goals and assists you can understand they will think he's not in top form, but there's many, many parts in a game that John's doing fantastically well in.

"He's very honest and humble. He knows where he needs to get to and, in terms of his Villa form, he will get there, but he's fighting extremely hard for it. He's one I trust, for sure, because, OK, he might have made a few mistakes in possession and perhaps isn't firing on all cylinders personally in possession but, out of possession, he's been magnificent.

"I'm not sure many people look at that side of the game and, at the weekend [against Chelsea], we're going to need bags and tons of that fight. That's been a big positive with us in recent games, that togetherness, the organisation, and John's a big part of that.

"I thought John was strong against Man City previously but, at the same time, we've got three games in six days and we're going to need everyone in the squad. A lot of people have had a lot of opportunities outside of a couple but three games in a short space of time, we're going to need everyone this next week."