Liverpool will face Aston Villa and a familiar face in Steven Gerrard on Saturday at Anfield in the Premier League.
The Reds will be brimming with confidence after the course of events since last weekend. First, a Divock Origi winner in the stoppage time against the Wolves saw the Reds move second on the Premier League table.
Liverpool then defeated AC Milan at San Siro to become the first English team to win all their group stage games in the Champions League.
A clash against a solid outfit in Aston Villa will not be easy as Gerrard will look for his biggest scalp as the Lions boss.
Liverpool Team News
Forward Roberto Firmino along with midfielders Harvey Elliot and Curtis Jones remain unavailable for selection for the contest against Aston Villa. Defender Joe Gomez and midfielder Naby Keita returned from their injury lay-offs for the match against AC Milan and they could be available against Villa if need be.
Forward Roberto Firmino trained with the team after returning from injury. But his participation in the first-team action is still distant. Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp rested most of the regulars against Milan, and they should be in contention to make the Liverpool XI.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Allison Becker became Premier League’s goalkeeper with the most clean sheets this season after Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Wolves last Saturday. Alisson has eight clean sheets to his name, and has bounced back after Liverpool’s shock loss to West Ham United which saw him concede three goals at the London Stadium.
Since that contest, the 29-year-old Brazilian has kept six clean sheets in eight matches for club and country, and only letting in two goals in that period. He should keep his place in the Liverpool lineup against Aston Villa.
Defence
In the inconsequential match against AC Milan, Klopp changed his entire regular backline of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Andy Robertson in favour of Konstantinos Tsimikas, Ibrahima Konaté, Nathaniel Phillips and Neco Williams. Klopp is expected to revert to the back four used against Wolves.
Midfield
The regular midfield trio of captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago enjoyed a night off at San Siro. The midfield was instead manned by Takumi Minamino, Tyler Morton and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
But after the rest, Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago are very likely to return to the Liverpool lineup.
Attack
Klopp rewarded Origi for his late winner against Wolves with a start against AC Milan. The Belgian striker proved his worth yet again as he netted once again. Origi was flanked by usual suspects Mohammed Salah on the right and Sadio Mane on the left. Salah and Mane should retain their spots in the team.
Diogo Jota has been the preferred striker for Klopp in the absence of Roberto Firmino, but it remains to be seen if he is fully fit after training for the first time today since the win against Wolves. If the Portuguese is fully fit, he is likely to start once again. Else, Origi could get the nod.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Aston Villa
