After a good result in the League Cup, Aston Villa will now shift their focus towards the Premier League where they have a daunting game against league leaders Liverpool at Villa Park.
Aston Villa edged past Wolves in the League Cup on Wednesday, winning 2-1, putting aside their 3-0 loss to Manchester City from last weekend.
The Lions have won two of their last four games, which has helped them move away from the relegation zone, but last week’s defeat to Manchester City and potential defeat to Liverpool could take them to the bottom three once again.
Dean Smith gave most of his first-choice players a break for the League Cup game, but they should return for the big clash against Liverpool.
Aston Villa Team News
Jack Grealish missed the mid-week game due to a calf injury, but should shake it off and feature against Liverpool.
Let’s take a look at the possible Aston Villa lineup for Saturday:
Predicted Aston Villa Lineup vs Liverpool
Goalkeeper
Jed Steer played in place of Tom Heaton on Wednesday, but Heaton should return to the Aston Villa lineup for Saturday’s game.
Defence
All four of Villa’s first-choice defenders were also rested for the game against Wolves as Tyrone Mings, Björn Engels, Frédéric Guilbert, and Matt Targett, dropped out of the team.
The four should return for the match against Liverpool, with Mings and Engels playing the centre-back roles, and Guilbert and Targett playing at right-back and left-back respectively.
Club captain James Chester returned to the Villa squad for Wednesday’s Wolves game after being out due to injury for around nine months. Smith may not want to risk him and include him in the squad as he is not fully match-fit yet.
Midfield
For Villa’s game on Wednesday, Henri Lansbury, Douglas Luiz, and Conor Hourihane started in midfield for the Villans, while John McGinn was brought in to replace Lansbury late in the game.
Luiz started against City last weekend, and played the entire match against Wolves in the League Cup. He may start once again against Liverpool, alongside McGinn and Marvelous Nakamba.
Attack
Grealish was not even in the Villa squad for the game against Wolves due to an injury, but he should return to play against Liverpool.
He could start on the left, with Anwar El Ghazi playing on the right. Wesley also was not involved in the Wolves game, but he should return for the game against Liverpool.
