Aston Villa travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, fresh off an emphatic two-legged triumph against Hibernian to earn their place in the Europa Conference League group stages.

While the Lions defeated their Scottish rivals 8-0 on aggregate in midweek, Jurgen Klopp’s 10 players astonished the St James’ Park fans last weekend, defeating Newcastle United 2-1.

 

 

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Match preview

A first-half red card between Newcastle and Liverpool threatened to destroy one side’s hopes of victory at St James’ Park, as Virgil van Dijk struck a fuming figure as he trudged down the tunnel, having been penalised for a last-man foul on Alexander Isak.

Jurgen Klopp’s side would appear to succumb to a strike from former academy product Anthony Gordon, but just like in August 2022, the Merseyside powerhouses would leave it late to destroy Eddie Howe’s aspirations.

While Fabio Carvalho was the standout performer last season, super sub Darwin Nunez scored twice off the bench to keep Liverpool unbeaten in the new season and extend Klopp’s winning streak over Howe to 11 games – an all-time Premier League record for a manager against a single opponent.

The Reds are in fourth place with seven points from the first nine games of the season, and they have now gone 14 games without defeat in the Premier League since being thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City, winning nine and drawing five.

Furthermore, the hosts’ unbeaten Premier League streak at Anfield now stands at 13 matches since Leeds United stunned Merseyside in October, but with Liverpool having both scored and conceded in each of their last five games, Villa will no doubt be aiming to fight fire with fire.

Unlike Klopp’s squad, Aston Villa were unable to defeat Newcastle at St James’ Park on the opening weekend of the season, but Unai Emery’s troops appear to have learned from the Magpies’ 5-1 humiliation.

Indeed, since returning from Newcastle with their tails between their legs, the Europa Conference League-bound Lions have strung together four consecutive wins with a staggering 15 goals, and the Matty Cash show took center stage at Turf Moor last weekend, as the right-back’s double and a Moussa Diaby effort saw Villa ease to a 3-1 win over Burnley.

Either side of their emphatic victory over Vincent Kompany’s men, the Lions breezed through their Europa Conference League qualifying playoff tie against Hibs, completing the job on Thursday with a 3-0 second-leg win after scoring five unanswered goals at Easter Road.

Cash, along with Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran, scored again, and group-stage matches against AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw, and Zrinjski Mostar await, but for the time being, Villa look to reverse a slightly worrying trend in which the Lions have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven Premier League away matches.

However, the Lions did manage to extinguish Liverpool’s Champions League dreams with a 1-1 draw at Anfield last term, which snapped the Reds’ five-game winning run against their West Midlands counterparts since that unforgettable 7-2 mauling behind closed doors.

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Team News

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While Van Dijk’s straight red card from last weekend carries a one-game ban, the Dutchman is at risk of being hit with a lengthier suspension due to a charge of improper conduct, having allegedly used insulting language towards the officials as he reluctantly made his way off the field.

As fans wait with bated breath to learn the outcome of the charge, Klopp will at least be forced to work around the absence of Van Dijk this weekend, and the Reds boss has also conceded that Ibrahima Konate will not return from an unspecified injury in time for the game either.

Joe Gomez and Joel Matip could therefore form the defensive wall in front of Alisson Becker, while Thiago Alcantara has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hip injury, but Curtis Jones has fully recovered from an ankle concern.

Speaking of midfielders, Ryan Gravenberch‘s arrival from Bayern Munich was confirmed late on deadline day, but a debut this weekend is unlikely.

Meanwhile, Villa boss Emery has no fresh fitness concerns to report from either of their most recent successes against Hibs or Burnley, but long-term knee victims Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings remain sidelined alongside Jacob Ramsey (ankle) and ex-Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho (thigh).

First-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has also been struggling with a minor calf issue over the past week and is touch-and-go for the weekend, as is Alex Moreno, whose thigh injury may or may not heal in time for him to be involved here.

The Lions were active on transfer deadline day with the loan signing of Clement Lenglet from Barcelona, but Emery may see no need to alter his effective defensive formula for the time being.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Robertson; Mac Allister, Endo, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres; Cash, Kamara, Luiz, Digne; McGinn, Diaby; Watkins

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We say: Liverpool 2-2 Aston Villa

No matter how permeable Liverpool’s backline may appear to be, the new-look Reds remain a true force to be reckoned with at Anfield, and a reinvigorated Nunez is a dangerous weapon for Klopp to possess.

Emery was taught a footballing lesson at Anfield during his time in charge of Arsenal, but while travelling home with three points might be a step too far, the prolific Lions are more than capable of holding the Reds to a high-scoring stalemate.