Jamie Vardy returns for Leicester but Aston Villa hold firm for draw

At least this result prevented Aston Villa from losing five successive games again, the week before they are reunited with Dean Smith who was dismissed in November after a similar sequence. While Steven Gerrard could find solace in stopping the rot, Leicester were able to welcome Jamie Vardy back with a late substitute’s cameo appearance as they prepare to face Roma in Thursday’s Europa Conference League semi-final first leg.

Villa’s improved defensive showing, in their first goalless draw of the season, means they can welcome Norwich City with the pressure off next week, while the verdict on Leicester’s season will depend far more on their first European semi-final than this mid-table derby.

The biggest cheer of the first half came when Vardy, back on the substitutes’ bench after more than a month out with a knee injury, ventured out to warm up. To say it was a quiet first half would be an understatement, but after Villa’s run of consecutive defeats, this probably suited Gerrard down to the ground.

Reverting to fielding Ollie Watkins as a lone striker, Villa played with a much more compact shape than in recent games, restricting themselves to a half press, with Philippe Coutinho doing defensive doggy runs between James Justin and Youri Tielemans rather than sparkling intermittently at the tip of a diamond.

Yet it was Villa who had the best chance of the half, in the eighth minute. Watkins did well, picking up a misheaded clearance from Wesley Fofana, whose vision was affected by the bright sunshine, and driving past the defender to reach the byline from where he pulled the ball back for Leon Bailey. The less said about the winger’s wildly lofted shot the better. There was similar drive and poise from Kiernan