Liverpool will look to continue their title charge as they travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa for their rescheduled Premier League fixture on Wednesday.
The Reds edged Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday to restore a seven-point lead at the summit, after Arsenal had trimmed it to four following a 2-0 away success at Leicester City. While it was not a vintage display, Arne Slot got the response he desired after his team were held to a 2-2 draw by arch-rivals Everton at Goodison Park last week.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa will be keen to get on a winning run of their own as they seek to close down the six-point gap to the Champions League places. They were held to 1-1 draw by 10-man Ipswich Town on Saturday, which left Unai Emery extremely frustrated.
Given how porous Liverpool’s defence has been in recent games, Villa will fancy their chances against the visitors from Merseyside.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool—Team News
Aston Villa suffered a big blow last weekend when Boubacar Kamara came off just 16 minutes into the draw with Ipswich Town. He remains doubtful for the visit of Liverpool along with Leon Bailey, who missed the last game with a minor injury.
Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Ezri Konsa all remain sidelined due to injury problems.
As for Liverpool, Cody Gakpo is reportedly set to miss out again with a knock. Joe Gomez and Tyler Morton are also out, but Arne Slot will welcome back Curtis Jones after the midfielder served a one-game suspension on Sunday.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Predicted Lineups
Predicted Aston Villa XI (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Andres Garcia, Tyrone Mings, Axel Disasi, Lucas Digne; Youri Tielemans, John McGinn; Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers, Marco Asensio; Ollie Watkins.
Predicted Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz; Darwin Nunez.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Key Players
Aston Villa—Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers has been Villa’s standout player this season. The Englishman has been flourishing in a free role behind the striker, and his movement, flair, drive and inventiveness are proving too hot to handle for Premier League defences. If he is given time and space on the ball, Rogers can single-handedly make Liverpool suffer in midweek.
Liverpool—Mohamed Salah
Premier League’s best and most productive player this season, Mohamed Salah has been incredible in a Liverpool shirt. He took his tally to 23 Premier League goals for the campaign on Sunday with a penalty in the 2-1 win over Wolves. Three days before, the Egyptian bagged a goal and an assist apiece in the heated 2-2 derby draw with Everton. Salah can hurt Villa at any moment and from anywhere on the pitch, so Villa’s defence must take extra care of the Liverpool superstar.
Prediction
Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool
