Villa striker John Carew has insisted the team have got stronger without Gareth Barry after claiming James Milner has more than filled the void left by his departure.

The claret and blues head to Eastlands for tomorrow’s eagerly-anticipated top-four showdown with midfielder Barry, whom Manchester City hope will shake off a hamstring twinge, again set to take centre stage after controversially quitting Villa Park last summer.

But Carew has been delighted by the way Villa, who sit a point ahead of City in fifth, have coped without their former talisman and skipper and believes the outstanding form of his replacement Milner, the newly-crowned PFA Young Player of the Year, means they haven’t missed him.

The Norwegian said: “We’ve managed to deal without him. James has done very well with his performances this season.

“There has been some outstanding performances from him. I think he’s filled the gap left by Gareth, maybe even more.

“We haven’t really noticed his departure and the team has got stronger. James Milner had a lot of weight on his shoulders and he’s not just fulfilled the expectations, he’s done much better.

“He can play for any team in the world the way he’s playing.”

Carew still holds Barry in the highest regard as a footballer and friend, but believes his old team-mate could regret his decision to move if Villa clinch fourth place.

The big striker said: “Gareth could regret it but that’s not something us players think about. For me, he’s an amazing guy and he was fantastic when he was here.

“He’s the nicest person you’d meet in your life, so I don’t want him to have any bad feelings.

“But this is football, it’s competition and we want that fourth place.”

Despite the duo’s different playing styles, Carew sees a number of similarities between 29-year-old Barry and the younger Milner, 24.

He added: “They are very similar in their knowledge of the game and their understanding of the game – the passing, seeing situations a bit quicker than the rest. Scoring a lot of goals from coldness.

“James never stressed and Gareth was never stressed. You can see how cool he was with the penalty against Birmingham last week to win 1-0.

“He’s got all the qualities to be a big player.”