Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Anfield is the venue as Liverpool and Aston Villa go head-to-head in a high-stakes Premier League encounter.

Liverpool’s bid to secure a seventh consecutive top-four finish in the Premier League is still alive as they begin this round one point below fourth-placed Manchester United. Though the ‘Red Devils’ have a game in hand, Jurgen Klopp’s men will be take the field confident about holding up their end of the bargain and extending an eye-catching seven-game winning league streak, bookended by a thumping 3-0 win at Leicester City earlier this week. The ‘Reds’ have had Villa’s number of late, racking up a jaw-dropping nine victories in their last ten meetings in the Premier League, including four straight wins on home turf. Likewise, Anfield has been a fortress this season, with Liverpool only losing one of their 17 home outings in the Premier League (W13, D4).

In the meantime, Aston Villa claimed a crucial 2-1 home win over seventh-placed Tottenham Hotspur last weekend to keep their dream of securing a European finish for the first time since 2009/10 alive. Level on points with ‘Spurs’ at the start of this round, Unai Emery’s men cannot afford another slip-up after going winless on their last three Premier League travels (D1, L2). Worryingly, though, they’ve lost back-to-back away league matches ‘to nil’ in the run-up to this clash, highlighting the potential for prolonging their traditionally woeful away form at the final stretch. The ‘Lions’ have won their final away league game in just two of the last 20 season, while they’re winless at Anfield since 2014. Indeed, they’ve not scored in two of their last three top-flight showdowns against Liverpool on Merseyside.