Aston Villa are hoping for two more warm-ups

Dean Smith’s team stepped up preparations for the season’s restart by hosting a training exercise with Albion on Saturday.

Villa pumped crowd noise and music through the public address system prior to kick-off to give players a taste of what they can expect when the season restarts.

Smith now wants to play two more conventional matches, one in midweek and another next weekend, to ensure his players are in the best possible shape to resume their season against Sheffield United on Wednesday week.

Though Villa will be without the backing of their fans for what promises to be a frenetic finale, skipper Jack Grealish believes the conditions could actually help some players perform.

He explained: “Everyone is different. Some people thrive off attention while others, I would not say crumble, but would rather they didn’t have it.

“I have played with a few players in my time who were unbelievable in training, the best I have ever played with but couldn’t really cut it on a matchday.

“That is just the way things are sometimes. There are definitely some players out there who will thrive off the fact there are no fans.

“But saying that, once the Premier League is back on TV, everyone in the world will be watching.”