The Aston Villa manager has issued his side a challenge ahead of the showdown with Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.
Dean Smith wants to see Aston Villa ‘go toe-to-toe’ with Manchester United instead of playing it safe.
The Villains gave it as good as they got on Wednesday’s visit to Stamford Bridge to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw. They lost the EFL Cup clash on penalties, but still gave a good account of themselves. Now the plan is to repeat the performance for the trip to Old Trafford.
With Cristiano Ronaldo back, as well as the summer additions of Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, Smith accepts Villa are facing a title contender in the Premier League.
“I’ve seen David de Gea’s interview this morning and they’ve got title aspirations. A club like Manchester United should have,” said the Villa coach during a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“They’ve just brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho this summer to add to a glittering squad already.
“It’s a massive club with a massive history, and they’re going to be pushing to challenge the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
“Our job is to go there and go toe-to-toe with them like we did at Chelsea.”
For team news and predicted line-ups, check out the link here.
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