Player Ratings: Leicester City 0-0 Aston Villa - A much needed clean sheet for the Villa!

Emi Martinez: 6/10

The Aston Villa goalkeeper seemed to lack confidence on the day, with some poor distribution and lapses in judgement when it came to collecting the ball. Deserves some plaudits for helping keep a clean sheet, but the lack of communication between him and the defenders in front of him will be an area of concern for most Villa fans.

Matty Cash: 6/10

Stuck to his assignment well and was often Villa’s main outlet down the right side of the pitch. His performance suffered from a lack of quality when Villa were on the ball, which limited the right-back’s ability to get forward.

Ezri Konsa: 6/10

With many surprised to see that the central defender retained his starting role following the disastrous loss to Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the month, Konsa showed a few moments of frustration, but it’s also fair to say that he improved as the game went on — surely deserves some plaudits for that!

Tyrone Mings: 7/10

The Villa captain kept things rather simple when on the ball, with a number of clearances due to Leicester City’s forward press. A clean sheet is massively important for his side at the moment and he was truly a major factor in that effort.

Ashley Young: 7/10

Standing in as the starting left-back due to Lucas Digne’s injury, the experienced defender kept Villa composed down the left flank and made a number of important challenges as well. With Villa struggling to maintain any sort of composure from a defensive point of view, it was pleasing to see that Young was able to take on a leadership role when it was most needed.

Douglas Luiz: 7/10

A rather kamikaze effort from the entire Villa midfield on the day, the Brazilian was rather strong in the challenge and didn’t really put a foot wrong from a ball distribution point of view either. The midfielder was replaced by Tim Iroegbunam in the 75th minute, with Luiz already being on a yellow card.

John McGinn: 6/10

Lackadaisical in the first half of play, the Scotsman had some pep in his step throughout the second half, often battling with Nampalys Mendy and maintaining a more physical presence in the Villa midfield.

Jacob Ramsey: 5/10

The young Villan suffered in possession, with limited options to move the ball to from an attacking perspective. Another game where Ramsey was relied upon to take on more defensive responsibilities than he should have to, which is a real shame when we all know what sort of attacking flair he possesses at times.

Philippe Coutinho: 4/10

Feel bad for the tricky playmaker as he was never really supported with quality passages of play by his teammates, which meant that his time on the ball was rather limited. Coutinho was able to break Villa free from a Leicester free-kick and set Leon Bailey off to the races, but the Jamaican couldn’t make the most of the opportunity.

Leon Bailey: 3/10

His playing time has been extremely limited due to injuries this season and it showed as the Jamaican struggled to string the simplest of passes together and couldn’t muster any sort of confidence in front of the Leicester goal either.

Ollie Watkins: 6/10

The striker had some promising attempts on the Leicester goal and was often a potential outlet when Villa went on the attack, but with a lack of support around him, it was always going to be a difficult day in front of goal for the Englishman.

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SUBSTITUTES:

Tim Iroegbunam (75mins): N/A

Replaced Douglas Luiz.

Emi Buendia (79 mins): N/A

Replaced Philippe Coutinho.

Marvelous Nakamba (93 mins): N/A

Replaced Jacob Ramsey.

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MAN OF THE MATCH: Ashley Young

Proved to be a capable replacement for the injured Lucas Digne and defended with purpose throughout the match. His determination to deny James Justin in the first half was a key reason in Villa maintaining a clean sheet today. Was nice to see plenty of fight from the experienced defender.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images