Aston Villa boss Dean Smith says they must build on the momentum garnered from their 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool a fortnight ago.

Villa go to Leicester City this weekend.

Smith declared, “Momentum is key, there is an awful lot of belief and quality within the team and the performance against Liverpool proved that, but we have to maintain that.

“There is always room for improvement. We have started the season well, there is confidence within the group and we believe that we are a better team than last season.

“There was always a worry that you could be complacent straight after, but some players have gone away and the others have stayed here and worked hard.""

And it's been a successful break for many of Villa's internationals, with Jack Grealish making his first England start against Wales, John McGinn having his first game as Scotland captain, Bertrand Traore scoring twice for Burkina Faso and Douglas Luiz making his first two starts for Brazil.

“I was really pleased that he [Grealish] got his first start and produced a man of the match performance," Smith added. "He'll be disappointed that he didn't play more minutes, but the beneficiaries are Aston Villa because he's fresh."

On Leicester, Smith also said: “They went to Manchester City and won 5-2, and we were stung against them a couple of times last season, so we have to take our previous levels into the performance.

“Last time we played there, we lost 4-0, so we know their quality."