Aston Villa's new owner Dr Tony Xia has launched an attack on football pundit Ian Holloway after he predicted that the Midlands side would finish 16th in the Championship this season.

Since taking over the club this summer, Xia has been noticeably forward in engaging with Villa fans on Twitter and after reading the former Blackpool manager's prediction piece for Sky Sports, he took to social media to react.

Of Villa's prospects this season, Holloway had said: "They could easily get relegated again, with the lack of investment and the lack of unity within the playing squad. They've got Roberto Di Matteo, who is a wonderful man, but it's a huge job to carry that expectation. It's going to take something special to turn it around."

In a tweet posted this afternoon that has since been deleted, Xia replied: "A failed player, failed manager and now f***ed pundit. Don't bother reading at all!"

Holloway also predicted that Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United will win the league, with Brighton & Hove Albion taking the second automatic promotion spot.