Paul Merson sends Aston Villa 'tough' warning ahead of Dean Smith reunion

Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa will go in search of their first win since March 10 this weekend as he lines his squad up to face Norwich City as Dean Smith returns to Villa Park for the first time since departing in November 2021.

The game will kick off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon and provides Villa with a chance to fire themselves back up the Premier League table after slipping down to 15th, whilst Norwich aim to keep their slim hopes of survival alive as they sit rock bottom in the table.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, former Villa midfielder Paul Merson has outlined how big of a game this is for Villa, given their poor run of form in recent weeks. Merson took to his latest column for Sportskeeda to issue the following prediction for Villa versus Norwich.

He stated: " Aston Villa are struggling at the moment. If they don't win this game, they'll go six matches without a victory, and that's never good for a team.

"This is going to be a tough game for Villa as they're not pulling up any trees at the moment. Norwich were slaughtered by Newcastle last week but they'll fancy their chances here. Aston Villa are playing a massive game this week and they will need to show up against Norwich."

Aston Villa 3-0 Norwich City.