Dean Smith calls on Aston Villa to take advantage of 'weakened' West Brom

The Baggies visit their rivals without the services of 16-goal striker Dwight Gayle after he was hit by a two-match ban for diving in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Winger Matt Phillips has also been sidelined with injury, while Smith believes Albion have felt the loss of Harvey Barnes, who was recalled from his loan spell by Leicester last month, after hitting nine goals during the first half of the season.

With Jack Grealish still missing through injury, Smith knows his own team are also short of full strength.

But he admitted the absence of Gayle was a “boost” to their hopes.

He said: “Dwight Gayle is a big loss. Most of their goals have come from him and Jay Rodriguez. We have to take advantage of that.

He continued: “I think they were quite astute in the market, bringing in the likes of Johansen, Murphy and Montero.

“Barnes and Phillips have been big losses for them in recent weeks and I think Darren (Moore) said after the game they have not been playing at their top level in recent weeks.”

For Villa, the game represents a chance to get quickly back on track after Wednesday night’s last-gasp defeat at Brentford, a result which further damaged their already faltering play-off hopes.

With 14 games remaining, Smith’s men now sit seven points adrift of the top six.

He said: “This is the perfect chance to bounce back. It’s a big game because it’s a local derby – it’s a big game because it’s the next game in the Championship and another chance to get three points.

“We had the disappointment of the last minute goal on Wednesday and now we can deal with it straight away by putting in a good performance and getting a good result.

“There was a sense of urgency since the moment I came in. You will always get that sense of urgency when it’s the next game. Yeah, we’re not in a great run of results at the moment and we want to put it right to give our supporters something to shout about again.”

In addition to Grealish, Villa will again be without Henri Lansbury (hamstring) and Axel Tuanzebe (foot).

Deadline day signing Tom Carroll also remains sidelined with a hip injury.

“It’s frustrating for him and frustrating for us,” said Smith. “He is a terrific player.”