Football

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa – 10 key things to know ahead of late kickoff at Anfield

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5m ago

Nov 11, 2024 / 4212 Views

Evan Walker

Liverpool go into their Premier League home match against Aston Villa having won their last six matches at Anfield and with the opposition suffering a slide in form.

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa

Premier League (11) | Anfield
November 9, 2024 | 8pm (GMT)

Liverpool supporters are confident as they go into a weekend that could put their team firmly ahead of their rivals or, at worst, see them finish one point behind the league leaders.

With an international break to follow, the Reds will want to jet off around the world with a win to show for their efforts ahead of a difficult run of fixtures that includes Real Madrid, Man City and Everton away.

1. A Saturday night kick-off

Unusually, Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa kicks off at 8pm on a Saturday night.

The reason for this is that TNT Sports could not schedule this clash for their usual 12.30pm slot as Unai Emery’s side played away in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

Ahead of the 2021/22 season, it was agreed that no clubs playing on a Wednesday night in the Champions League would be scheduled for an early kick-off in the Premier League the following Saturday.

That has since been changed to only cover teams playing away in Europe, which is why the Reds still had a lunchtime kick-off at Crystal Palace after facing Bologna.

2. Team news

Arne Slot didn’t allude to there being any new absentees for Liverpool going into the match against Aston Villa.

However, he did give us news on Diogo Jota‘s recovery from a rib injury, saying: “He will be back one or two weeks after the international break.”

Federico Chiesa will likely return at a similar time and we hope Harvey Elliott will be back by then too, though updates on his fitness has been sparse.

Alisson also remains out as a result of his hamstring injury sustained against Crystal Palace on October 5.

3. Arne Slot’s 3 selection dilemmas

• READ HERE: Liverpool lineup options vs. Villa – 3 key dileMMAs & Luis Diaz decision

Having a squad full of players performing well is brilliant for Liverpool, but it does present Slot with somewhat of a conundrum in his team selections.

Against Villa, he has three key decisions to make as he decides who to play at left-back, left-wing and in midfield.

Andy Robertson could return after only making the bench in Liverpool’s last two matches, while Luis Diaz also starts on the left.

In midfield, Slot must pick two of the trio that includes Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Given his excellent form, we’ve gone for Jones to start this one with Mac Allister.

Predicted XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

4. Aston Villa’s dip in form

• OPPOSITION Q&A – Villa look “desperate for international break” – focus ‘dropped’ before Liverpool

Aston Villa have enjoyed another successful season so far, but Emery’s team have experienced a recent hiccup in results.

Having lost their last three matches, against Club Brugge, Tottenham and Crystal Palace, there is some pressure on the Birmingham-based side to pick up points.

Villa fans, though, aren’t too optimistic about their chances this weekend. Supporter Tom Fahy even told This Is Anfield that the team look “desperate for the international break so we can collect and regroup.”

For the Anfield fixture, they will likely have a near fully-fit squad, with just two players definitely out – Ross Barkley and Matty Cash who both have “small injuries” to their hamstring and calf, according to the manager.

Youri Tielemans could also miss out, though Birmingham Live report that Emery is “hopeful” the Belgian will be available despite dealing with “a small knee pain.”

5. Liverpool’s left-back battle

With Kostas Tsimikas‘ improving form and Robertson’s slight drop-off has come a conundrum for Slot, who must decide whether to make a statement by picking Tsimikas for this match.

“I think we have two very good left-backs and we play many, many, many games,” the head coach said.

“Then I think both of them need their Games, because it’s also a position where a lot of effort is being asked.

“If you look at the players who have played most games, it’s mostly our centre-backs and they don’t really run the most if you compare that to full-backs or the midfielders or the wingers.

“So there are multiple reasons why our full-backs or our midfielders are sometimes rotated, but definitely it also has to do with the quality of the players and the difference in, at least in my opinion, the quality of these players.”

6. Anfield should be bouncing!

While it isn’t ideal for Travelling supporters, Saturday’s 8pm kick-off time against Aston Villa does mean Anfield should be even louder than normal.

After having watched Man City hopefully drop points away against Brighton at 5.30pm, Liverpool fans should be more than up for the match given the growing significance of every game as the Reds’ form shows no signs of slowing.

The extra pint and nature of the last two atmospheres at Anfield will mean those going to the match are in for a brilliant night, but that doesn’t happen by magic. Make yourselves heard!

7. Title rivals’ fixtures

This isn’t an easy weekend for any of the Premier League title chasers, if such a weekend even exists.

As mentioned, Man City play away at Brighton on Saturday evening – a match the Seagulls will be eyeing up with confidence given their strong but ultimately unsuccessful displays against Liverpool.

Arsenal, too, have a difficult match as they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Enzo Maresca and Mikel Arteta’s teams are in contrasting moods at the moment, Chelsea coming into the game off the back of an 8-0 Europa Conference League win against Armenian side Noah, while Arsenal lost 1-0 in midweek to Internazionale.

As they sit in third place, it is only right that we mention Nottingham Forest‘s fixture too! They play Newcastle at the City Ground – a 2pm televised Game on Sunday.

8. History points to goals

This will be the 100th meeting between Liverpool and Aston Villa at Anfield in all competitions. The Reds have won 62 of the previous 99.

The last 14 encounters in all competitions between have produced 57 goals, an average of more than four per game.

Meanwhile, there has only been one goalless draw in the last 38 league encounters at Anfield. In fact, Liverpool have scored 344 league goals against Villa in their history – more than they have netted against any other team.

Each of the Reds’ last 10 goals scored in league and cup have come in the second half of games.

9. Who is the referee?

David Coote, who has issued 28 yellow cards in five Premier League Games this season, will referee the match and Paul Tierney will act as lead VAR.

Of the seven times Coote has taken charge of Liverpool matches, the reds have won four times. Aston Villa, meanwhile, have won 11 of their 20 matches refereed by him.

Timothy Wood and Craig Taylor will serve as Coote’s assistants at Anfield, with Sam Allison acting as fourth official.

Sian Massey-Ellis will be the assistant VAR alongside Coote. It is her second Liverpool match this campaign after taking on the same role against Bournemouth.