Smith urges Villa players to embrace underdog tag against Real deal City

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has urged his players to embrace being underdogs in tomorrow’s Carabao Cup final.

Villa go into the game on the back of three successive Premier League defeats, while opponents Manchester City will be buoyed from a standout victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Villa have also been beaten by an aggregate of 9-1 in their two league meetings with City this season, including a 6-1 home hammering in January.

Despite that, Smith said: “It’s an opportunity for our players to etch themselves into the history of the club. We’re massive underdogs against a world-class team, but I can only name one or two other teams who wouldn’t be underdogs going into the game against City.

“They’re a fantastic team, no matter which 11 they put out, and they’ve a fantastic coach, which is why they can go to the Bernabeu and get a result.

“But I like sometimes being the underdog because we can go and have a good fight without people expecting anything of us.

“If anybody had told me nine years ago, when I started out as manager of Walsall, that I’d be a Premier League manager leading Villa into a cup final with a chance to win a trophy then I would have said they’re crackers.

“We’ve done well to get to the final, and now we’ve an opportunity against one of the world’s best teams.” Smith, left, confirmed that Scotland midfielder Johnmcginnwilldefinitely miss out despite his stringent efforts to return from an ankle injury that he suffered just before Christmas. For City, defender Aymeric Laporte will definitely be out and could miss up to a month with a hamstring injury.

Laporte was forced off in the first half of Wednesday’s stunning Champions League victory at Real Madrid. It was only his eighth appearance of an injury-ravaged season.

Manager Pep Guardiola said: “He has a hamstring injury, so that is normally three weeks or one month, more or less.

“Unfortunately it has happened after four or five months out and then going directly into a big game. It sometimes happens.”

Laporte, 25, suffered knee ligament damage in August and then had a setback on his return in January, keeping him out for a further month.

The Frenchman has been sorely missed this season with his absence arguably one of the chief reasons why the champions have failed to mount a strong defence of their Premier League title.

City will now turn their attention to the showpiece against Villa when victory would give them a sixth domestic trophy in succession after winning all three major pieces of silverware last season and the past two Community Shields.

Guardiola said: “Since we won the Carabao Cup as our first title together, we have played 11 competitions. If we win on Sunday, we will have won eight. Eight out of 11 at this level is incredible, and it would be the last six domestic titles in a row.

“There are no words to express my gratitude to these players. It is honestly so difficult to do it and to maintain that.”