Aston Villa vs Liverpool; Premier League
Aston Villa vs Liverpool. Premier League.
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Aston Villa vs Liverpool preview
Watch match highlights at 5.15pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app
Friday 1 November 2019 16:17, UK
Team news, key stats and prediction ahead of Aston Villa vs Liverpool in the Premier League.
Team news
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish is winning his race to be fit to face Liverpool. The midfielder sat out Wednesday's 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Wolves with a calf injury.
He took a knock in the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City but should return for Saturday's visit of the Premier League leaders.
Liverpool will assess the fitness of Naby Keita, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed. The midfielder sustained an injury during the second half of Wednesday night's penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
But Joel Matip will not figure as he continues to overcome a knee problem that has kept him out of the last three matches. "Joel is not (available) for the next few weeks," Klopp said.
How to follow and watch
Follow the action with our dedicated live blog. Highlights of the game will be published at 5.15pm on the Sky Sports website and app plus the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
Opta stats
- Aston Villa have won just four of their last 29 Premier League games against Liverpool (D8 L17), with three of those wins coming at Anfield.
- Liverpool have lost just one of their last 18 away league games against Aston Villa (W12 D5), winning the last five by an aggregate score of 13-1. Only against West Brom (8 games, 1983-2009) and Norwich (6 games, 1995-2016) have they had longer winning away runs in their top-flight history.
- Liverpool have won 13 Premier League away games against Aston Villa, more than they've beaten any other side on the road in the competition.
- Aston Villa have won just four of their 38 Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table (W4 D8 L26), most recently beating Chelsea 1-0 in March 2014.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 27 Premier League games, their second longest unbeaten run in top-flight history (31 between May 1987-March 1988).
- Liverpool have won their last 13 Premier League games against promoted sides. Only Chelsea (27, 2002-2006), Manchester United (17, 2006-2009) and Tottenham (16, 2015-2018) have had longer such runs in the competition.
Charlie Nicholas' prediction
It is a cracking Saturday full of entertaining games. Liverpool have been getting over the line, which doesn't win you titles quite yet, but it does later down the line. There is something quite weird abut Aston Villa - they are good going forward, but their weakness lies at the back.
Liverpool have so many fantastic players, especially the front three. If one is off, it is no major disruption, but the midfield you can get at, hence why Jurgen Klopp changes it. When the full-backs are up and Liverpool play the high-press, they will win as nobody can get out. Villa do not like to be overly cautious or tactical - they want John McGinn and Jack Grealish on the ball, with the energy and drive to find the gaps that Liverpool will leave open.
It could be Trezeguet who could hurt Liverpool, especially in these wide areas. Everybody has seen with Trent Alexander-Arnold that he is unbelievable going forward but can leave gaps at the back, so how do you expose it? It is the wide areas where Liverpool can win and lose games, and this area could be damaging for Villa, who will try and play. This will suit Liverpool and they will pick them off.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 1-3 (10/1 with Sky Bet)
Super 6: Villains to play their part?
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