The Essentials: Everything You Need To Know On Leicester's Visit To Villa Park

First Team
20 Feb 2021
4 Minutes
Leicester City's focus returns to Premier League football on Sunday with a visit to face Dean Smith's ever-improving Aston Villa side (2:05pm kick-off).

The Villa Park outfit secured victory at King Power Stadium in the corresponding fixture back in October, but the Foxes currently hold a 10-point lead over their Midlands rivals, having played two games more.

Ahead of Sunday's meeting, LCFC.com brings you all you need to know...

How can I watch the game?

With supporters still being asked to follow from home, Monday's game is live on Sky Sports.

Supporters based in the United Kingdom can tune into live coverage of the clash on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, immediately following West Ham United vs. Tottenham Hotspur.

Elsewhere around the world, meanwhile, the game will be shown on the following channels...

Country Channel Time
Australia Optus Sport 1:05am (Monday)
Brazil ESPN 11:05am
Canada DAZN 9:05am
China Tencent Sport 10:05pm
Denmark Xee 3:05pm
Egypt beIN Sports 4:05pm
France Canal+ & RMC Sport 3:05pm
Germany  Sky Sports 3:05pm
Hong Kong NOW 10:05pm
India Disney+ Hotstar & Select 7:35pm
Italy Sky Sports 3:05pm
Jamaica RUSH 9:05am
Japan DAZN 11:05pm
Mexico Sky Sports 8:05am
Netherlands Ziggo 3:05pm
New Zealand Spark Sports 3:05am (Monday)
Portugal  Sport TV 2:05pm
South Africa Super Sport 4:05pm
Thailand truevisions 9:05pm
United States peacock 9:05am


Can't see your country? Click HERE for more timings.

Who's starring on LCFC TV?

LCFC TV and LCFC Radio provide coverage of every Leicester City fixture for free.

From 12:35pm on Sunday, Matchday Live returns, on LCFC.com, Facebook and Twitter, with presenter Dan Bates joined by Matt Elliott and Simon Grayson, while Gerry Taggart will dial in from Villa Park.

Alongside commentator commentator James Fielden, Taggart will also be on hand for live in-play coverage, starting at 1:55pm, which can be accessed, for free to Digital Members, on LCFC.com.

Then, after the game, Elliott, Grayson and Taggart will also provide their thoughts on the clash with Dean Smith's Villa for half-an-hour of reaction and analysis, across the website and @LCFC social media.

What's the officiating team?

Michael Oliver is the man in the middle in Falmer this weekend.

Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett. Fourth official: Robert Jones. VAR: David Coote. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.

When does everything happen?

Aston Villa's home ground is steeped in domestic and European cup history.

Third meets eighth in the Premier League at Villa Park - and here are your key matchday timings...

Event Time
Matchday Live begins on LCFC TV 12:35pm
Team news confirmed on @LCFC social media 1:05pm
Commentary starts on LCFC Radio 1:55pm
Sky Sports coverage commences* 2pm
Kick-off 2:05pm
Full-time 3:50pm approx
Short highlights on LCFC TV 5:50pm approx
Match of the Day 2 starts on BBC One* 10:30pm
Full highlights on LCFC TV 12am (Monday)


*UK only.

What's the injury news?

Timothy Castagne is close to a return after a hamstring complaint.

Providing an update on Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne, Brendan Rodgers told the media: "Both of those boys will be available we think. They trained really well today (Friday). We’re just having to manage Ricardo, in particular, because of the length of time he was out before. He’s come back, he’s played in a few games, we gave him the rest and a recovery period in midweek and he should come into the reckoning for the weekend."

Villa manager Dean Smith, meanwhile, also said on Friday: “Kortney Hause is still off his feet at the minute. I’m expecting that to change in the next week or two. Wesley had some manipulation on his knee last week and he looks a lot better. He’s been on the training ground with us already and that will continue. I’m hopeful for progression with Wes. Matty Cash has a hamstring strain and I’m expecting three or four weeks [out]. It wasn’t a fatigue injury, he actually got pushed with a straight leg and felt his hamstring.”

What happened last time?

Jonny Evans' header after the break restored Leicester's authority in the game.

Leicester City secured a Club record eighth consecutive Premier League victory with a 4-1 success over Aston Villa on their last league visit to Villa Park on 8 December, 2019.

First-half goals from Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho gave City a two-goal advantage which was halved just before the interval by Jack Grealish, before a Jonny Evans header and another from Vardy wrapped up an impressive victory in the West Midlands.

The result kept the Foxes second in the Premier League, on 38 points from 16 games, eight behind runaway leaders and eventual champions Liverpool.

When can I catch match highlights?

Leicester City are pictured ahead of kick-off in Thursday's UEFA Europa League knockout tie against Slavia Prague at Sinobo Stadium.

A two-minute highlights package will be available for supporters to access on LCFC TV approximately two hours after full-time, which is available for free to Digital Members on the Club's official website (free sign-up).

A full highlights video will be published on LCFC.com at midnight following the fixture and Leicester City's official social media channels will post short clips from the day's action.

Please note that in the interests of safety, Leicester City’s fixtures will continue to be played behind closed doors. To ensure matches can still go ahead and to help control the spread of COVID-19, the Football Club kindly asks its supporters to continue to follow their team from home and not to gather at any stadia.

All times GMT unless stated otherwise.