James Maddison and Harvey Barnes scored as Leicester City edged out an Aston Villa side missing the injured Jack Grealish.
Maddison found the net inside the opening 20 minutes, side-footing the ball into the far corner.
Moments later, Barnes was on hand to strike home a rebound, giving the Foxes a deserved two-goal lead.
Villa lacked creativity without captain Grealish – who has a leg injury that is set to keep him out for around a month – but were given a lifeline when Bertrand Traore volleyed home a loose ball.
The hosts struggled to create further openings as Leicester held on to go second in the Premier League, three points clear of Manchester United, who host Newcastle later on Sunday (19:00 GMT).
Maddison and Barnes continue to impress
With England manager Gareth Southgate watching on, English duo Maddison and Barnes barely put a foot wrong for Leicester in the first half.
Maddison, 24, had been involved in eight goals in his past nine league appearances coming into this fixture, and it took him just 19 minutes to curl Leicester in front after a lay-off from Barnes.
And Barnes was then in the right place moments later, tapping in after Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez parried a close-range Jamie Vardy effort.
Maddison was substituted midway through the second half after a minor knock to his hip.
But Barnes continued to orchestrate from midfield, playing through Vardy who fired a dangerous effort across the face of goal late on.
Villa toothless without injured Grealish
For the first time since November 2019, club captain Jack Grealish was not in the Aston Villa squad for a Premier League match.
“He had some discomfort in training this week. At the end of the week, we decided he wasn’t right to play,” Villa boss Dean Smith told Sky Sports before the game.
Nobody has been involved in more Villa goals than Grealish this season, and without their captain, Smith’s side looked a shadow of their usual selves in the first half.
Forward Traore halved the deficit three minutes after the restart, pouncing on a loose ball after Matt Targett’s cross was flicked on by John McGinn.
But Leicester easily wrestled back control, with a late Tyrone Mings header the only other chance of note for the hosts.
Grealish had started Villa’s previous 48 league fixtures – but they must learn to adapt to life without him for the next few games.
More to follow.
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Aston Villa
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Squad number26Player nameMartÃnez
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Squad number27Player nameAhmed El Mohamady
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Squad number4Player nameKonsa
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Squad number5Player nameMings
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Squad number18Player nameTargett
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Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
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Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
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Squad number15Player nameTraoré
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Squad number20Player nameBarkley
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Squad number21Player nameEl Ghazi
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Squad number11Player nameWatkins
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Squad number17Player nameTrézéguet
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Squad number25Player nameSanson
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Squad number41Player nameRamsey
Leicester City
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Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
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Squad number27Player nameCastagne
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Squad number6Player nameEvans
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Squad number4Player nameSöyüncü
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Squad number33Player nameThomas
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Squad number8Player nameTielemans
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Squad number25Player nameNdidi
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Squad number21Player nameRicardo Pereira
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Squad number10Player nameMaddison
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Squad number15Player nameBarnes
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Squad number9Player nameVardy
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Squad number18Player nameAmartey
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Squad number20Player nameChoudhury
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Squad number24Player nameMendy
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 26MartÃnez
- 27El MohamadyBooked at 59mins
- 4Konsa
- 5Mings
- 18Targett
- 6Douglas LuizBooked at 51minsSubstituted forSansonat 81′minutes
- 7McGinn
- 15Traoré
- 20BarkleySubstituted forRamseyat 76′minutes
- 21El GhaziSubstituted forTrézéguetat 67′minutes
- 11Watkins
Substitutes
- 1Heaton
- 3Taylor
- 17Trézéguet
- 19Nakamba
- 25Sanson
- 39Davis
- 41Ramsey
- 60Chukwuemeka
- 62Hayden
Leicester
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Schmeichel
- 27Castagne
- 6Evans
- 4Söyüncü
- 33Thomas
- 8TielemansSubstituted forChoudhuryat 88′minutes
- 25NdidiBooked at 34mins
- 21Ricardo PereiraSubstituted forAmarteyat 76′minutes
- 10MaddisonSubstituted forMendyat 64′minutes
- 15Barnes
- 9Vardy
Substitutes
- 11Albrighton
- 12Ward
- 14Iheanacho
- 18Amartey
- 19Ãœnder
- 20Choudhury
- 24Mendy
- 28Fuchs
- 46Daley-Campbell
Live Text
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Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Leicester City 2.
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Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Leicester City 2.
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Attempt missed. Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ahmed El Mohamady with a cross.
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Foul by Luke Thomas (Leicester City).
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Bertrand Traoré (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).
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Ezri Konsa Ngoyo (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. John McGinn (Aston Villa) left footed shot from outside the box is too high following a corner.
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Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Timothy Castagne.
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Foul by Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).
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Ezri Konsa Ngoyo (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Matt Targett with a headed pass.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Hamza Choudhury replaces Youri Tielemans.
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Çaglar Söyüncü (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
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Foul by Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City).
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Trézéguet (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Trézéguet (Aston Villa).
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Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.
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