We've run the numbers, and Jamie Vardy is officially a thorn in Villa's side...
- Sean Byrne
- 18 February 2021
After scoring four goals against Aston Villa last season, we've taken a look at the likelihood of Jamie Vardy causing problems for the Villans once again at the weekend.
Jamie Vardy will be hoping to replicate last season's league match at Villa Park as his side travel there this weekend.
The prolific Leicester City striker grabbed his side's second in their impressive 3-1 victory over champions Liverpool in their last match, and boss Brendan Rodgers will be hoping his team can build on this over the weekend.
Head-to-head these two couldn't be closer in their last 10 meetings, with Leicester having won four times, drawn twice, and lost four times to opponents Aston Villa since December 2014.
Stat Attack
In the 2019/20 season, Leicester did the league double over Aston Villa by winning 4-0 at home and 4-1 away at Villa Park.
This was the first time Leicester had achieved the league double over Aston Villa since the 1996/97 Premier League season, and Vardy played a vital role in these matches.
The Englishman bagged a brace in both games, which helped contribute to his 23 total Premier League goals last season.
Let's look at his best four displays versus Aston Villa.
Memorable Matches
Aston Villa 1-4 Leicester City
Villa Park
December 8, 2019
Jamie Vardy was on song in this fixture in 2019
Vardy scored a brace and secured man of the match for his performance at Villa Park last season in the Premier League.
After dribbling past Villa 'keeper Tom Heaton, Vardy opened the scoring after 20 minutes as he placed the ball into the back of the open net on his second attempt.
Vardy then got his second and his side's fourth as he calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner in typical fashion to secure all three points.
The goals marked Vardy's eighth league game in a row of scoring, equalling Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in eight consecutive Premier League games on two different occasions.
Leicester City 4-0 Aston Villa
King Power Stadium
March 9, 2020
Vardy ended his 644-minute goal drought against Aston Villa as he scored twice to help his side comfortably beat the Villans.
Coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute, it took Vardy just four minutes to get his name on the scoresheet as he converted a penalty to open the scoring.
This opened the floodgates and Vardy got the third of the game in the 81st minute, with his attacking partner Harvey Barnes also getting a brace to make up the scoring.
His second goal also meant that Vardy had a 100% conversion rate in this match, as he only took two shots whilst being on the pitch.
Leicester City 3-2 Aston Villa
King Power Stadium
September 13, 2015
The iconic striker once again found himself on the scoresheet as his side scraped a victory in the dying seconds at the King Power stadium.
Vardy secured the Foxes' equaliser with ten minutes remaining as he turned in a simple ball from Danny Drinkwater from close range.
Nathan Dyer's looping header won the game in injury time for Leicester, who weren't short of attempts on goal throughout the game with 21 shots.
Vardy had the most individual efforts with five shots, and also received the third highest rating on WhoScored with 7.9, behind Riyad Mahrez who achieved the perfect 10.0.
Aston Villa 1-1 Leicester City
Villa Park
January 16, 2016
This wasn't one of the Englishman's best performances, but still showcased his hard work and desire to fight in a Leicester City shirt.
The opening goal, finished by Shinji Okazaki, came as Villa 'keeper Mark Bunn could only just parry Vardy's lobbed effort into the Japanese striker's path, who slotted the ball into the net.
Villa equalised in the second half, and despite pressure Leicester failed to find a winner - despite clinical striker Vardy being responsible for 25% of Leicester's attempts at goal.
The result put Leicester one point clear at the top of the table, and the rest of that season was history...
Tip for the fixture
Aston Villa won the reverse fixture 1-0 earlier in the season at the King Power Stadium. Paddy Power are offering odds of 9/1 for Leicester to avenge that defeat with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park this weekend.
(Odds correct at time of writing, subject to change).
