Defender Olof Mellberg has said he expects to be less busy playing for a superior Juventus than his previous club Aston Villa.

The Swedish international moved to Italy on a Bosman free transfer in the close season after spending seven years in the Premier League with Villa.

Villa never finished in the top four during his time there but Juve hope to challenge for the Italian title this term having been third last season, their first year back in the top flight after being demoted in a match-fixing scandal.

“Juventus are obviously a much bigger club, both in Italy and worldwide so hopefully it will be a step up,” Mellberg told Reuters in an interview.

“We will probably be dominating more games compared to Aston Villa in England so it will be different in that sense.”