Liverpool will look to break their poor run of form when they welcome the lowly-placed Aston Villa to Anfield on Saturday.
The Reds scraped through their Capital One Cup tie with Carlisle United on penalties with another below-par performance which was similar to that produced in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City last weekend, much to the faithful’s displeasure. It is not a crisis for Brendan Rodgers just yet, although it is mighty close, as Liverpool are placed in the bottom-half of the table and are winless through four. It is not just a vital game for Rodgers, as another 1-0 would not appease the hostile Kopites, the team needs to score three or four and display an attractive style of attacking football.
Aston Villa also squeezed past a defiant Birmingham City midweek and that followed on from a narrow 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion over the weekend. It is not a pretty picture for Tim Sherwood, as his Villans are a point clear of the relegation zone and only two clear of last place. Anfield is usually always a difficult place to get a result, however, this campaign, that looks to be a thing of the past. This is ideal,because it is beginning to look desperate for the Claret and Blue.
Key Battle – Phillippe Coutinho vs Ashley Westwood
The Reds’ little Brazilian magician is seemingly the only one who create opportunities for the team at the moment, as the likes of Roberto Firmino are floundering due to the absence of captain Jordan Henderson. Coutinho was not able to get Liverpool over the lines against Norwich City last weekend, however, it was obvious he was the only one capable of doing so, as the 23-year-old had 10 shots on goal and strung together 91% of his passes.
The Brazilian international will most likely setup just behind Liverpool’s frontline, which puts him well within the territory of Ashely Westwood, who has been rock-solid for Aston Villa through the midfield. It will be his role to close down Coutinho when in possession and also stop the supply from the likes of James Milner and Lucas from deeper positions. The Englishman is in ripe defensive-form, having recorded a successful 75% of tackles won in a total of 41 challenges. Although Westwood will be assigned plenty of defensive duties, he can certainly hurt Liverpool on the front-foot as the 25-year-old has so far created 13 chances on goal for Villa.
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Team News
Daniel Sturridge returned to action against the Canaries and logged an hour of football, however, the English striker was rested midweek, which most likely means he is a certain starter versus Villa. Rodgers should stick to his three-at-the-back system after using it against Carlisle, meaning Mamadou Sakho will maintain his starting place, more so after Dejan Lovren was stretchered off during the Reds’ Capital One victory. Henderson is still unavailable, while Rodgers will be sweating on the fitness of Firmino. Lastly, Christian Benteke will miss the match with a hamstring injury, which should see Danny Ings start, the Englishman having scored twice in as many games.
Gary Agbonlahor will undergo a fitness test prior to the game after he limped-off during Villa’s derby win over Birmingham, whereas Sherwood has stated that Joleon Lescott’s early exit was planned. Rudy Gestede scored midweek and will be hard to look past, given the Reds’ frailty from set pieces.
Head-to-head
Liverpool have a good record against Aston Villa, having won 89 matches compared to the Claret and Blues’ 56 victories, the pair having drawn 40 times. The last time these two met was in the FA Cup Semi-final at Wembley which the Villans won 2-1 and they were also triumphant on their last visit to Anfield in September 2014, running out 1-0 victors. In fact, Aston Villa have not lost in their past three outings on Merseyside, although Benteke featured heavily in those games.
Prediction
Liverpool welcomed back Sturridge against Norwich City and he made an immediate impact on how the Reds built up their play, however, they still struggled to find the back of the net and that problem has lingered since the opening day against Stoke City. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have been inconsistent and also lacked goals, netting just six. It will be a low scoring affair, but Liverpool should have enough quality to get the job done.
Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 0
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