Rodgers Highlights Aston Villa's Qualities

- Brendan Rodgers' previews Sunday's visit of Aston Villa to King Power Stadium (7:15pm kick-off)
- Both sides have registered three Premier League victories from their opening fixtures 
- Rodgers is well aware of the quality within Dean Smith's Villa squad
- The Northern Irishman also discusses the need for consistency from his players this term

Dean Smith's men travel to Leicester on Sunday on the back of three consecutive top-flight victories, while the Foxes have also gathered nine points, from four games, so far in 2020/21.

The Villans' most recent success, meanwhile, saw the Midlands outfit register a 7-2 triumph over champions Liverpool - and Rodgers is wary of the threat they will pose on Filbert Way this weekend.

"For last season, it was always going to be difficult for Villa," he said. "Dean did fantastically well. They obviously came up late and then had to have an influx of signings, a lot of loan players.

"That takes a bit of time and you don’t quite get into your rhythm and the nature of the Premier League is so competitive, so it can then get difficult for you.

"They got the job done in the end and recruited very, very well this summer. Ross Barkley’s a huge signing because playing in his natural position as a No.10, he could blossom there.

"Obviously, Jack Grealish staying is a massive help for them, so they’ve started very well and had an outstanding result against Liverpool. It will be a really, really tough game for us."

Leicester's start to the new campaign has also been encouraging, with wins over West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and Manchester City, but they suffered a defeat by West Ham United last time out.

"We’ve started the season very well, winning three out of four games," Rodgers continued. "The performance level in the first three games was very high in different types of games.

"Different performances were needed and we were very good in the attacking side and, defensively, we’ve got areas that we can work on, but in the main, we’ve been very good.

"The West Ham game was another lesson for us in the Premier League, where if you’re not right on your level, which we were for the first three games, you can lose.

"Two big things in the Premier League are that you’ve got to be competitive and you’ve got to work very, very hard and, if you can do that, that gives you a great chance of getting results.

"For us, we didn’t start well in the game, and we got punished. We gave away two poor goals and, against a team that defended and attacking well, it was a difficult day for us.

"But, over the course of the four games, there have been so many positives and now we enter into this next period of games, which is an exciting period for us. We’re really looking forward to it."

The Northern Irishman is keen to see the Foxes enjoy a greater degree of consistency over the course of this season and has been pleased with what he's seen so far into the new term.

"It’s a continual process," he added. "You get bumps along the way and it’s how you respond to that.

"We didn’t see that performance [vs. West Ham] coming, however I know the honesty in the group, and we were bitterly disappointed with it afterwards.

"It was hard because the players then went away on international duty, but we’ve regrouped again this week, most of the guys were back in today, and we’ll look to move onto the next one.

"That’s what I’ve always said about this team. Last season, we showed lots of potential, but can we get that consistency into our game? That’s the aim for us this season."