Liverpool FC: Observations from the Reds' Draw with Aston Villa

Liverpool crowned another disappointing afternoon for the fans with a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Aston Villa.

The game at Anfield was predictable and tough to watch—a carbon copy of most matches that have taken place on home soil so far this season.

Kenny Dalglish switched things around a little, but ultimately it was the same old Liverpool—failing to capitalise on the dominance they created.

Read on for five observations made during the game. Enjoy the slideshow!

You Can Huff, You Can Puff...

...but a resolute defence can thwart the Reds at Anfield.

This is not news. Liverpool's home form has been absolutely abysmal this season. The latest result makes it nine draws at home so far in a season which can't end sooner.

Again though, Liverpool were the better team. They pressured Aston Villa from start to finish and enjoyed large chunks of possession.

Unfortunately, they couldn't make their dominance count and emerged with a deserved point rather than a warranted three.

Liverpool Are so Unlucky

The Reds have hit the woodwork a total of 33 times this season—an absolutely incredibly statistic.

When we talk about a lack of goals from the strikers or a lack of a clinical nature from the team on the whole, we have to take into account the fact that Liverpool's season has been shadowed by a frustrating knack of striking the frame of the goal.

Luis Suarez hit the post today for the umpteenth time this season and it simply served as a sign that Kenny Dalglish's men would leave the pitch disappointed yet again.

Andy Carroll Would Have Thrived

For the first time in a long time, Liverpool found some joy with balls crossed into the box.

The wide men at Anfield have been woeful this season. Stewart Downing has only completed 40 of 175 attempted crosses this season—a man who was bought to supply Andy Carroll with constant ammunition.

Andy Carroll would have thrived on that service today had he started the game.

Aston Villa have shown consistency in just one element of the game this season—conceding goals from set pieces. This would have been a good opportunity for Carroll to relieve some pressure on his shoulders.

Does Kenny Dalglish Checks Bleacher Report?

Only joking, but it was nice to see the Liverpool manager put some more faith in his young players.

I wrote an article very recently suggesting that chucking young players in the deep end would be beneficial to the Reds.

Jonjo Shelvey got another start and John Flanagan impressed down the right-hand side both offensively and defensively.

If Raheem Sterling and Sebastien Coates can be included in the team alongside this team, it may well pay dividends in the end.

Aston Villa Have a Decent Crop of Youngsters

Great teams are built on groups of youth players coming through and forming a unit.

I'm not about to compare Aston Villa's youth products to Manchester United's or Liverpool's of the past for that matter, but the fact is they have some talent.

Ciaran Clark, Gary Gardner, Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton are all names we know of now thanks to Premier League exposure.

But Nathan Baker was solid alongside James Collins and we saw a debut for the highly-rated Samir Carruthers—a young talented plucked straight from Arsenal's youth setup.

The Villans need one win to secure their Premier League safety, but it will be very interesting to see how these young guns perform next season as they continue to grow.

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