Aston Villa vs Liverpool 09/01/21

Villa Park is the venue, as Aston Villa and Liverpool battle it out for a place in the FA Cup Round 4.

A 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on January 1 did knock Aston Villa down from a five-game undefeated run (W3, D2) and saw the ‘Lions’ concede over 1.5 match goals for the first time in one month. At home, Dean Smith’s men have picked up just one victory in five competitive games since dismantling Liverpool 7-2 in a Premier League encounter on October 4 (D1, L3). For Aston Villa, goals have been in short supply this season, as they have netted under 1.5 goals in five of their eight competitive home fixtures. It’s worth noting that the ‘Claret & Blue Army’ have scored a combined 12 goals in their last two competitive meetings with Liverpool here, winning each of them via a five-goal margin.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W4, D5) was brought to a halt with a 1-0 away loss to Southampton last time out. Jurgen Klopp’s men have now failed to get on the scoresheet in two consecutive matches after scoring at least once in eight successive fixtures beforehand. Furthermore, the ‘Reds’ have won only one of their last seven competitive road trips (D5, L1), scoring under 1.5 goals on six occasions. Though it may come as some surprise, five of Liverpool’s seven previous competitive games have featured under 2.5 goals, including the last three that saw the reigning Premier League champions draw a blank in the second half of play. Interestingly, though, two of their three previous away matches have seen the opener scored within three minutes.