Cup glories to become heroes, says Smith

Championship, while City will be buoyed after claiming a memorable Champions League scalp with victory at Real Madrid in midweek.

If omens can play a part, 26 years ago Villa faced a similar situation as they had lost three successive league games before taking on a Manchester United side who were odds-on favourites for the win, yet they conjured a remarkable 3-1 success.

“I’ve experienced winning the playoff final last year, I’ve experienced losing in the EFL Trophy Final for Walsall,” remarked Smith, a lifelong Villa supporter.

“The emotions are streets apart. It’s a place where you go to try and win because winning is the best feeling when you’re there.

“You look at 24 years ago (when Villa beat Leeds 3-0 in the 1996 League Cup final), with the likes of Ian Taylor and Andy Townsend lifting the trophy.

“Then in ’94, Dalian Atkinson, Dean Saunders, even Graham Fenton, who came in when people didn’t expect him to.

“I was there and I was surprised at the time when the team sheet came through.

“As I would say to anybody, I’m the one who knows what the best team selection is for us. I’m the one who sees them training every day.

“Big Ron Atkinson was proven right that day. It was 26 years ago and it was a long time, but what we will do is pick a team that can go out and win.”

Meanwhile, Emile Heskey has urged his former club to produce a perfect smash-and-grab performance.

Heskey, who played for Villa between 2009 and 2012, won the competition four times during his career and says Dean Smith’s side have to hit the ground running if they are to upset the odds.

“I think they need a fast start and they need to be very solid and not be beaten and then try and nick a goal,” he said. “When you are a lesser side that is what you have to do.

“It’s a great chance for them. They are not going so well in the Premier League so it is a great chance for them to give themselves a little bit of a boost.

“They will have to perform and they know that because they are coming up against a wonderful side.”

As well as the four victorious finals in the League Cup, two with Leicester and two with Liverpool, Heskey was also a runner-up twice, including during his stint at Villa.

So it is a competition that holds fond memories, especially the first time he won it in 1997. Heskey scored in a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, with the Foxes going on to win a replay at Hillsborough.

“It is very special to me,” he said.“That was the first trophy I ever won, so I remember that fondly.”