Liverpool V Aston Villa Preview

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Monday 24 August 2009,

Anfield

Kick-Off: 20:00

Liverpool

Liverpool will enter Sunday’s match on a high after an emphatic 4-0 victory against Stoke on Wednesday.

The Reds were flying high right out of the gate as Fernando Torres snatched an early goal in the fourth minute of the match. From then on, it was smooth sailing for Rafael Benitez’s men, who will feel encouraged by the response after their opening day defeat at White Hart Lane.

Injuries to Benitez’s back line have been a concern in recent weeks, with Daniel Agger ruled out for another three weeks and Martin Skrtel still feeling the effects of a damaged jaw.

Youngsters Daniel Ayala and Emiliano Insua will likely continue in Benitez’s defence in place of the missing duo. Liverpool have also just signed Greek international defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos from AEK Athens, who may also serve as a short-term replacement as well as providing tutelage to the two youngsters.

Glen Johnson has been particularly impressive coming forward for Liverpool in his first two matches with the club. He created the penalty against Aston Villa and scored an acrobatic volley against Stoke.

Aston Villa

After a miserable finish to the 2008/09 season that saw Aston Villa win only two of its final sixteen competitive matches, Martin O’Neill would have been looking to build on his club’s fine off-season results.

However, Aston Villa endured a gloomy start to their 2009/10 campaign, losing 0-2 to Wigan at Villa Park in a match the Villains would have expected three points from.

The Birmingham club were largely ineffective against Wigan and the loss of Gareth Barry in midfield to Manchester City has clearly been a setback for O’Neill.

Aston Villa will be expecting improved performances from Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, who seemed a shade off the pace in the loss to Wigan.

Aston Villa may rotate their squad a little depending on their Europa League qualification match in Austria against Rapid Vienna on Thursday.

Prediction

Liverpool have enjoyed success against Aston Villa in recent years having won eleven, drawn three and lost only two of the previous sixteen Premier League matches played between the clubs at Anfield.

A repeat of the 5-0 thumping put on by the Reds in the Liverpool vs Aston Villa fixture last season is highly unlikely, but the affair does tend to see its fair share of goals. Only one of the past sixteen encounters has finished 0-0.

Coming into Anfield and taking anything from the match is a tall order for any club in the Premier League, and Aston Villa would need a much improved performance against Liverpool to achieve even a draw.

Liverpool vs Aston Villa Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Aston Villa

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