Aston Villa-Liverpool is a match valid for the seventeenth day of the Premier League and is played on Monday at 18:30: predictions, TV, streaming.
A few too many errors from Darwin Nunez in goal and the numerous absences Jurgen Klopp had to (and still has to) cope with didn’t allow Liverpool to get the better of Manchester City for the third time this season, being eliminated from the League Cup: they will therefore be unable to defend the title they won last year.
The Reds’ run of form began with a defeat, but they didn’t let up against Pep Guardiola’s side, who played an intense, high-tempo match that ended in a nail-biting 3-2 defeat. Fabio Carvalho and Salah scored the goals of the momentary equalisers for Liverpool, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium with many second-liners (Gomez, Bajcetic, Elliott) and without the injured Firmino, Luis Diaz, Naby Keita, Diogo Jota and former Juventus man Arthur. Against Aston Villa, in the Premier League’s late Boxing Day clash, Klopp is expected to recover some of those players who took part in the World Cup in Qatar, with the exception of Konaté, who was only involved in the final between his France side and Argentina last Sunday. Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson will almost certainly be there, while van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Milner are strongly in doubt.
Emery exam for Klopp
Liverpool need to pick up where they left off. And that is from the four consecutive Champions League, Premier League and League Cup victories, which last November had in some ways put things back on track after a less-than-stellar start.
Digne on shot
Salah and his team-mates, currently sixth in the standings and almost out of the title race (Arsenal are +15), can make no more mistakes if they want to be in the top four. The second test to understand if Liverpool have really turned over a new leaf is represented by Unai Emery’s Villans, who last November took over the reins of the Birmingham club after Steven Gerrard’s exoneration. The former Villarreal man has been in charge for too short a time to judge his performance, but two wins in a row against Manchester United (3-1) and Brighton (1-2) bode well.
The Prediction
It’s shaping up to be a lively match with at least three goals in total at Villa Park, between two teams who need to make a strong start after a poor first half of the season.
The likely Aston Villa-Liverpool line-ups
- ASTON VILLA (4-2-2): Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Douglas Luiz, Kamara; Ramsey, McGinn; Buendia, Ings.
- LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara; Salah, Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
