Matt Maher comment: Deja vu as Aston Villa triumph for second time

Were it not for the different setting, different kits and opponents, you might have been forgiven for thinking you had been transported back to a fortnight previously.

At Leicester, just as at West Ham on the opening day, £50million record signing Amadou Onana put the visitors ahead when he finished off a smartly-worked set piece routine, before Jhon Duran came off the bench to score the decisive goal to earn Villa a 2-1 victory.

Just as at the London Stadium, Unai Emery’s team missed chances which would have made the closing stages a lot more comfortable.

For the second week running, the best of them fell to Ollie Watkins but just as in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal the Saturday before, he was unable to capitalise.

Typically, you would file Watkins’ profligacy in the negative column and the striker, of whom there is no greater critic than himself, will certainly be doing so.

Yet no-one around Villa really believes the 28-year-old’s barren run will continue. On both occasions at the King Power Stadium, Watkins was thwarted by either smart or impressive goalkeeping from Mads Hermansen.

As the cliche goes, it would be more of a concern if he wasn’t getting in position to score. There is some encouragement to be taken in the fact Villa have managed to win two out of three matches without last season’s star man on top form.