Villa duo are marked men - O'Neill - Sport in brief

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The duo have played a big part in Villa's push for a European spot and impressed sufficiently to earn England recognition from Fabio Capello, although injury denied Agbonlahor the chance of making his debut.

He said: "If you have been a surprise one season, you are given a bit more respect in the second year and players won't treat you so lightly.

He added: "That has happened to Ashley and now almost inevitably it has happened to Gabby, but he has still been able to elude good defenders. He has done very well.

"With Ashley, I think there has been a definite shift in terms of teams closing him down quickly.

"Even if playing against really top quality defenders, they are calling for a bit more help for themselves, getting midfielders to screen in front of them.

"They are making sure there is less distance from themselves to the keeper so someone like Ashley doesn't get that much space to run into. But it is up to good players to be able to see that and do something about that."