Aston Villa appointed Dean Smith as their new head coach last week.

The ex-Brentford gaffer comes in to replace Steve Bruce, who had a terrible start to the season and was the butt of a practical joke that saw a fan throw some cabbage at him.

Bruce’s time seemed up for weeks. Villa started the season in fine fettle but tailed off just weeks in, and Dean Smith will be looking to put the bad run of form behind his new side.

As for Swansea, it has been a very inconsistent start.

Graham Potter’s men have looked excellent at times, but regularly looked like a side destined for mid table mediocrity.

The game on Saturday promises to be a tight affair, with both teams seemingly in desperate need of three points.

Here at FLW, we have a look at THREE things we expect to see in Villa v Swansea on Saturday…

The crowd will be well behind Dean Smith and his new Villa side. 41,000 tickets have been sold and it would feel as though the Villa Park faithful are ready for what promises to be a new era at the club.

From the off, the crowd will be up and kicking every ball, belting out anthems of ‘Holte Enders in the sky’ and the rest of their songbook. This can only work in Villa’s favour, who would love to get an early goal.

James Chester returns for Villa for this clash. The defender missed the last outing with a suspension following his red card, and Villa looked open at the back.

With his return, Smith’s side will be heavily reliant on defensive solidarity, which will allow the attackers to thrive.

Swansea may struggle to get a foothold in the match, especially in the first half. This goes hand in hand with the atmosphere, but for Villa, the ‘new manager effect’ is not an unreasonable prediction.

The away side have been awful on the road this season, and I expect that may be the case again tomorrow.