Aston Villa v Liverpool – Match Preview

Merry Christmas Reds fans! Liverpool resume their Premier League season on Boxing Day, when they make a journey to Aston Villa. This will be their first game in this competition since mid-November following the break for the World Cup. Jürgen Klopp will hope to give travelling fans a present in three points.

Overview

Aston Villa appointed Unai Emery in late October, after parting ways with Steven Gerrard. Villa claimed nine points in 11 games under Gerrard, and have notched up the same amount in four meetings since his departure. Emery is famous for his hard-working approach, seems to spend long hours on video analysis. As it stands, Villa sit in 12th, and are just five points clear of the relegation zone.

Liverpool have already returned to competitive action on Thursday, when they crashed out of the Carabao Cup to Man City. With that in mind, it will be a second consecutive away fixture for the Reds. The primary aim for Klopp is to get back to winning ways as soon as possible – Premier League doesn’t give you presents, you’ve got to grind out points. The battle for top four starts now. Currently, Liverpool are occupying sixth spot, and are seven points off the Champions League-guaranteed place.

Team News

It doesn’t get better when you read the Team News for Liverpool, does it?

Roberto Firmino and James Milner join the treatment room alongside Diogo Jota (calf), Luis Diaz (knee), Arthur (thigh) and Curtis Jones (calf). Firmino picked up an injury in training, while Milner sustained a hamstring issue at Etihad Stadium.

Ibrahima Konate will be miss out following his participation in the World Cup final, and is set to be ready for Leicester City. Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold still remains a doubt.

Villa will be without Emiliano Martinez. Unai Emery has confirmed during the press briefing that Olsen will deputise for him. Diego Carlos is a long-term absentee, whereas Jacob Ramsey will miss out due to hamstring. Meanwhile, Villa are yet to assess the fitness of former Red Philippe Coutinho, who resumed training, but missed previous three fixtures before the World Cup due to injury.

Head to Head

Liverpool have been in the ascendancy in the last five Premier League meetings in Birmingham – winning four and losing one. The latest defeat against the Villans came in 2020, in a pandemic-hit season, where games were played behind closed doors. Ollie Watkins stole the show with hat-trick, and Aston Villa made headlines as they won 7-2.

The Birmingham outfit have been led by four different managers across these five fixtures, whereas the team from Merseyside has been run by two various faces (Brendan Rodgers and Klopp).

Summary

Clearly, Liverpool would be the favourites for the game, given the history between both sides. However, football is more complex – having an off day can shatter your dreams of any points.

Klopp must improve a few aspects before the game gets under way. He needs to fix the problem at the back – players must be compact, focused, and stand firm. Moreover, last time out against Man City, Darwin Núñez led the attack, but struggled with finding the net – most of his shoots went wide, therefore he must address his inefficiency.

Emery’s Villa will be without Martinez, with second-choice shot-stopper Olsen not quite at full fitness. If Liverpool hit the ground running, Olsen should have a big test ahead of him.

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