Liverpool-Aston Villa is a match valid for the thirty-seventh day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 4 pm: TV, predictions.
Protagonist of a resounding comeback, Liverpool puts their eighth win in a row in their sights. Essential to keep believing and hoping for that Champions League qualification that only a month ago seemed pure utopia.
The Reds, despite themselves, woke up too late, when the situation was already almost compromised. And now they are forced to hope for a possible misstep by Newcastle and Manchester United. The Magpies on Thursday made up for their match with Brighton, scrambling De Zerbi’s Seagulls 4-1, consolidating third place and flying +4 from Jurgen Klopp’s men: they would become unreachable in the event of a win against Leicester, now that there are only two days left until the end of the games. More realistic at this point is to make the run on Manchester United, which still has one match left. The Red Devils are +1, but in the next seven days they will face three teams with no goals left to pursue: Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham. All this means that, barring surprises, Liverpool will have to settle for fifth place and the Europa League.
Emery still chasing the Europa dream
Fifth place that, in any case, must be secured and definitely put away from the possible onslaught of Brighton, which finished at -7 but still has a game to make up.
Emery
Aston Villa also dreams of a place in Europe, which will visit Anfield on Saturday afternoon and will try to take points away from a stadium that has not been violated in 11 games, a partial in which Liverpool has won 29 points out of 33 available. Unai Emery’s men along the lines of the Reds have made a sensational comeback: suffice it to say that in November, when the Spanish coach arrived, they were even in danger of slipping into the relegation zone. The Villans are fresh from a very important victory in their direct clash with Tottenham (2-1) that allowed them to join Spurs in seventh place on 57 points of their own. The Europa League, then, is still a possible goal, considering that sixth-placed Brighton, despite having played one less game, is only one point ahead. That of Anfield, however, has been a hostile environment for Aston Villa in recent years: the Birmingham club has not expelled it since 2014 and has always lost to Liverpool in the last five confrontations, including last December’s 3-1 defeat at Villa Park.
The Prediction
Two teams in confidence, among the healthiest teams this late in the season, face off. And the stakes are definitely high, as both are still in the fight for Europe, albeit a different one. Liverpool at home lately has been a real roller coaster and is favored for the three points but Klopp and Emery’s offensive philosophies suggest a spectacular match with at least three goals overall.
The likely Liverpool-Aston Villa lineups
- LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Luis Diaz.
- ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Ramsey, Kamara, Douglas Luiz, McGinn; Buendia, Watkins.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
