Martin O'Neill

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has hailed the career of ``headbanger' Robbie Savage - and he could come face to face with the Blackburn midfielder for the first time since their Leicester days.

O'Neill plucked Savage, who has recently recovered from knee surgery, from obscurity when he paid Crewe £400,000 for his services a decade ago.

The former Manchester United apprentice became a key part of the Foxes side that became regular top-10 finishers in the Barclays Premier League, and won the League Cup in 2000.

Now the pair could lock horns with Savage having been back in full training for more than a week.

O'Neill used to joke when at Leicester ``the only thing wrong with Robbie is that he thinks he can play football' but he has great admiration for what the former Welsh international has achieved in the game.

The Irishman said: ``If he plays, it will be the first time I've directly come up against Robbie. He was terrific for Leicester. We paid £400,000 for him and he was a gift, a really good bargain.

``We also had Neil Lennon and Muzzy Izzet in midfield at the time and 'Sav' might have felt in his early days that he was almost playing second fiddle to them.

``But he fought through all of that and went from being a bit-part player in the early days to becoming a big component in that Leicester team.

``He's gone on to have a really great career. When he's fit, he's a regular in Premier League sides like Leicester, Birmingham and now Blackburn. That speaks volumes for him.

``He was a headbanger but he's done brilliantly. He is a great lad and genuinely brilliant in the dressing room.'

Villa's visit to Rovers will be in stark contrast to the circumstances surrounding the fixture last April when they were fighting to avoid relegation - victory for O'Neill's in-form side will push them into the top six - but a 2-1 win was the catalyst for an end-of-season revival of nine games without defeat.

Now Villa will be seeking a third successive win on their travels after overcoming Birmingham and Middlesbrough.

O'Neill said: ``A repeat would be fantastic but we know it will be tough and Mark Hughes has done a fantastic job at Blackburn. They are strong and can mix it when necessary - but they can also play. They have a really good blend.'

O'Neill is unlikely to make any major changes from the side which won 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium at the weekend to climb into seventh spot in the table.

	Mark Hughes

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes leads his side into the Ewood Park clash with Aston Villa insisting the time is right to shatter the so-called big four's Barclays Premier League monopoly.

Hughes signed a lucrative new contract last week and is in confident mood with three consecutive home games to come and the prospect of making up ground on the teams above.

While many rival bosses consider a Champions League berth off-limits that is clearly not the case for Hughes with Rovers having already taken points off Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool this season.

Hughes, whose side face Newcastle and West Ham after Villa's visit, said: ``It becomes more and more difficult every year because of the resources but it is realistic this year and we will certainly go out and have a real go at it.

``The make-up of the results this year seems to be a little bit different with most of the top teams beating most of the bottom teams, so that may lead to more teams being able to challenge the top four.

``Our home form has been great this season and it is key to us having a good season. If we can keep getting maximum points at home we will do that and now we have three home games back to back.'

Hughes is virtually at full strength for the visit of Martin O'Neill's in-form side, with South African striker Benni McCarthy pronounced fit despite limping off with a badly gashed leg at Craven Cottage.

Matt Derbyshire is back after a thigh strain and David Dunn from suspension, while Hughes is hoping Paraguay international Roque Santa Cruz will return refreshed after a well-deserved rest at the weekend.

Hughes added: ``The squad is very strong at the moment and I have got a lot of striking options and a lot of tough decisions to make.'