‘Think clearly’: Smith seeks final-day survival hat-trick with Leicester

In 2011 and 2020, the manager beat the drop at Walsall and Aston Villa but his team require help on Sunday

By a quirk of fate Dean Smith is in familiar territory. Three years ago, at an empty London Stadium because of the pandemic, he preserved Aston Villa’s Premier League status on the final day of the season courtesy of a draw against David Moyes’s West Ham. Moyes and West Ham again stand in the way of Smith securing safety and, eerily, Everton also host Bournemouth, as they did at the climax of that strange season.

This time, however, the scenario is much simpler – and there will be supporters to provide mood music. “Can you create scoreboard pressure on other teams? I don’t know,” the interim Leicester manager says. “We just have to concentrate on trying to win the game.”

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