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Dean Smith: Hurting Aston Villa players hungry to pull off 'Mission Impossible' at Liverpool

Dean Smith has told Villa’s players they can silence the critics by pulling off ‘Mission Impossible’ at champions Liverpool on Sunday.

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The boss admits his relegation-threatened squad are hurting from the flak thrown their way following a return of just two points from four matches since the Premier League’s restart.

Villa now face a Reds team who are yet to drop a point at Anfield this season and Smith quipped: “We haven’t got Tom Cruise with us but I’ve got 11 players and I’ve seen a desire in their eyes.

“They feel stung by criticism but you are going to get criticism when you’re in a position we’re in. Their job is to prove people wrong.”

Villa have been accused by some supporters of not showing sufficient desire but Smith claims the statistics show his team are actually running further and faster than before the season’s suspension back in March.

“I certainly see passion. I just think there’s a distortion by not having supporters there,” he said.

“The stats are telling me we are running more than we did before. We are covering the ground with more high-speed running.

“The chances are few and far between without the supporters there and there are fewer mistakes. We are doing everything we can but we need more quality in the final third.”

Liverpool head into the match looking to rebound from Thursday’s 4-0 defeat at Manchester City but Smith does not fear a backlash.

“They came up against a team that can do that to anybody, but Liverpool also had their chances in the game,” he said.

“I’m not wary of a backlash. I think they’ll go into the game with exactly the same attitude.

“It was refreshing for me to hear Jurgen Klopp talk about attitude because that’s something we talk to our players about all the time. Their attitude was spot on and it will be against us as well.

“I think it’s a good time when they’ve won the league, certainly. Probably having no fans in the stadium will help as well. But they’re an exceptional team.”

Smith is hopeful defender Ezri Konsa will recover from a foot injury sustained in last week's 1-0 defeat to Wolves.

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