Follow live coverage as Aston Villa face Southampton today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.

Rich: The players made a fist of it for the most part, but we were toothless up front, either wanting an extra touch or an extra pass which invariably gave the ball back to Villa. Martin's subs made the team weaker, which shows how poor our squad is.

Villa striker Jhon Duran is putting birthday celebrations on hold as he aims to shoot down Nottingham Forest on Saturday.