Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has praised Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham ahead of Saturday's Championship clash between the two teams at Villa Park.

The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Villa from Chelsea and has scored 23 goals in 34 Championship appearances this season.

Abraham was the Robins' top scorer at Ashton Gate two seasons ago, scoring 23 goals in 35 games while on loan from Stamford Bridge.

Johnson believes he knows what to expect from the striker and the Bristol City boss has heaped praise on the player ahead of tomorrow's clash at Villa Park.

"He's such a lovely lad. That's the first port of call," Johnson told the Bristol Post.

"I was very honoured to coach a player of his quality and he's obviously gone on now to make his full England debut and he's a full international as well.

"He's a Premier League player in my eyes and credit to Aston Villa for getting a Premier League player.

"He's got a nice family and I wish him all the best, but obviously not against us, but we know that we're going to have to deal with that threat on Saturday."

Johnson is well aware of the threat his side will come up against on Saturday and believes a deciding factor in the game will be whether his side can cope with Villa on the counter attack.

"You can't let players like that get up a good head of steam. If they counter you with the quality they have then, countering the counter is probably the most important thing in that type of game," added the Robins boss.

Bristol City are currently sixth in the Championship table, just one point behind fifth-placed Aston Villa with a game in hand, making tomorrow's meeting at Villa Park a must-win game for both sides.

Villa will go into the game full of confidence after coming from behind to beat Rotherham 2-1 on Wednesday, to extend their winning run to seven straight matches.

Meanwhile, the Robins are unbeaten in their last five matches and will be confident of another three points as they look to finish the season in the top six.

The Verdict:

It's a must-win game for both teams at Villa Park tomorrow, with both teams hoping to finish the season in the play-off places.

Johnson knows all about Abraham from the striker's time at Ashton Gate and knows his defence will be in for a difficult afternoon tomorrow.

It's good to hear the Robins boss praise the striker ahead of the game, but I'm sure he will be hoping that he does not cost his side tomorrow.