Aston Villa dealt devastating blow ahead of Leicester City clash as ‘unplayable’ star ruled out

Add as preferred source on Google

Leicester City were plunged deeper into trouble during the festive period following a string of poor results.

Leicester have now lost three matches on the spin against Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Admittedly, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men did come up against tough opposition over the festive period and Leicester were somewhat unfortunate at home to Man City.

However, Wolves collecting seven points from a possible nine under new manager Vitor Pereira saw the Foxes drop into the bottom three.

With the January transfer window opening on Wednesday, van Nistelrooy will be eyeing defensive reinforcements as they aim to pick up in 2025.

Leicester’s first test comes in the shape of Champions League-chasing Aston Villa. It’s a very tough game to kick off the year, although Unai Emery will be without one key player at least.

• READ MORE: Leicester City in transfer race to sign ‘excellent’ Premier League midfielder who Everton also want 

Morgan Rogers suspended for Aston Villa’s clash vs Leicester City

After picking up his fifth yellow card of the season before the Premier League’s 19-game cut-off point, attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers has now been handed a suspension.

Rogers has been an integral player for Emery this term and in their 2-2 draw against Brighton on Monday night, the Englishman scored and assisted.

The 22-year-old, who earned his first senior England call-up in November, now has six goals and three assists this term – identical to Jamie Vardy’s record in 2024/25.

Rogers being suspended for the game gives van Nistelrooy one less player to worry about, although he still has to contain the likes of John McGinn, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins in attack.

Luckily, the Leicester manager also has players who can hurt Emery’s men in transition, including the influential Facundo Buonanotte.

How Facundo Buonanotte compares to Rogers

Much like Rogers is for Villa, Buonanotte is someone who can change the game for Leicester in the final third with his low centre of gravity and skillfulness.

This season, the Brighton loanee has continued to show true glimpses of his talent with four goals and two assists in 16 Premier League games.

• READ MORE: Steve Cooper’s number one transfer priority at Leicester City is now outperforming Facundo Buonanotte

Admittedly, the silky Argentine hasn’t scored or assisted in his previous five matches however, the onus will be on him to deliver against the Villans.

Here’s how the 20-year-old compares to Rogers when looking at their stats this term.

Rogers, who has been dubbed ‘unplayable’ by Jamie Redknapp, is levels ahead of Buonanotte in most departments.

However, the Argentine is also over two years younger than the Englishman and can become as good, if not better than the Villa playmaker.