Liverpool will travel to Aston Villa for their next Premier League game on Monday night, hoping to pick up all three points.
Liverpool had a mediocre first half of the campaign and are currently sixth in the Premier League table. The Reds will be desperate to get back into the top four and secure Champions League qualification. So Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will hope that his players can step up and grind out a positive result against Aston Villa.
The Merseyside outfit come into this game on the back of a 3-2 defeat against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup earlier this week. And Liverpool will hope to bounce back strongly when they take on Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have made a dismal start to the campaign. But they have improved since the arrival of Unai Emery. The Spanish manager will be hoping to start things off on a positive note and finish the season strongly.
It will be interesting to see if Aston Villa can grind out a morale-boosting win at home over Liverpool. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Next up, a Boxing Day visit to face Aston Villa ✊@Vistaprint | @Scott_McRoy 🎨 pic.twitter.com/xJHTAurGYY
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 23, 2022
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
The West Midlands club will be without the services of Diego Carlos because of an Achilles injury. In addition, Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho is set to miss out as well for Aston Villa against former club Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Argentine international Emiliano Martinez recently won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with his country. And the 30-year-old is expected to be rested for this game. So Unai Emery is expected to start with Robin Olsen in goal. And the back four will comprise of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Lucas Digne.
Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara will likely be form the double pivot in the middle of the park. And John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey will line up as the attacking midfielders. Finally, in the attack, Emiliano Buendia is expected to pair up with Danny Ings to form the striker partnership.
Probable Lineup (4-2-2-2): Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Luiz, Kamara; McGinn, Ramsey; Ings, Buendia
Liverpool
Liverpool rested most of their key players for the EFL Cup clash against Manchester City. And Jurgen Klopp is expected to field a full-strength lineup for the trip to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa.
Alisson Becker is set to return in goal. And the back four should comprise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson. The midfield unit should Thiago Alcantara partner Fabinho as the defensive midfielder. And Jordan Henderson will be the other central midfielder.
Liverpool are still without the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota due to their respective injuries. And Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho are expected to start as the wide forwards. Finally, Uruguayan international Darwin Nunez is expected to lead the line for the Reds.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Nunez, Carvalho
Key Stats
- Aston Villa have lost eight of their last nine Premier League meetings with Liverpool, the exception being a 7-2 win in October 2020. No Premier League fixture has been won by the away side as often as Aston Villa vs Liverpool (21), with the Reds’ 15 wins at Villa Park their most at a single away ground in the competition.
- Aston Villa have won four of their last six league games on Boxing Day (L2), as many as they had in their previous 23. However, they did lose 3-1 at home to Chelsea on this day last season.
- Liverpool have won their last five Premier League Boxing Day games by an aggregate score of 15-0, including all four games under Jurgen Klopp. Indeed, only Mauricio Pochettino (5/5) has a better 100% Premier League win rate on Boxing Day than the German (4/4).
- Aston Villa have won both of their Premier League games under Unai Emery so far. No manager has ever won their first three league games in charge of the Villans in the club’s history.
- Danny Ings has scored four goals in his last four Premier League games, as many as he had in his previous 26. Ings has also been involved in ten goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances against teams he has previously played for in the competition (7 goals, 3 assists).
Player to Watch
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's front trio has impressive 33 goals in all competitions 2022/23 👏
1⃣5⃣⚽️Mohamed Salah
9⃣⚽️Darwin Nunez
9⃣⚽️Bobby Firmino pic.twitter.com/ufKHjupvYX— Stats24 (@_Stats24) December 25, 2022
The Egyptian international has scored ten goals in his last ten appearances for Liverpool and he will be our man to watch this week. Salah will need to be at his best for the Reds to grind out all three points at a difficult venue.
The 30-year-old managed to get on the score sheet against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. And he will be hoping to make his mark in the Premier League game against Aston Villa as well.
Prediction
Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool have not been at their best this season, and Aston Villa are likely to pose a difficult challenge for them. This is likely to be a close contest between the two teams who are equally capable of grinding out all three points.
However, Liverpool are the better team on paper and will be motivated to get their season back on track with a positive result. Given their performance against Manchester City despite fielding a second-string side, the Reds should be able to raise their performance levels and grind out the all-important three points.