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A stalemate with Tottenham appears to have put an end to Liverpool’s quadruple hopes, with Man City tanking Newcastle 5-0 a day later to establish a three-point lead with just three games to go. The Reds have to be ready to capitalize on any slip-up however, and there’s no possibility of Jurgen Klopp fielding a weakened side despite the upcoming FA Cup final this weekend.
Fortunately for Klopp, his only injury concern is Roberto Firmino, though given the availability of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, that shouldn’t hinder Liverpool’s chances in attack.
Salah may have endured a fairly quiet second half to the campaign, registering 15 goals and 10 assists across Liverpool’s first 17 league games, compared to just seven goals and four assists since then, but he has bagged five goals across four clashes with Aston Villa since the start of last season as he scored at least once on every occasion.
Similarly, Steven Gerrard’s treatment table isn’t inundated with bodies, with Leon Bailey and Kourtney House the only ones confirmed as injured. Jacob Ramsey could return to action here, though Philippe Coutinho may have to settle for a place on the bench with replacement Emiliano Buendia grabbing a goal and an assist last time out at Burnley as the Brazilian was dropped.
After a four-game losing streak, Villa are now unbeaten in three, with a stalemate at Leicester followed by victories over bottom-four outfits Norwich and Burnley.
However, it’s noticeable that each of their opponents during that initial losing streak were eighth or higher in the table, and against such teams, Villa are W1-D1-L12 in the league this season, as only clashes with Man Utd have yielded up any points.
Limited to results against the five teams above the Red Devils, they’ve lost all eight matches and were already behind at the break on six occasions.
Liverpool To Win The Second Half
Although Liverpool were held to a draw for the second time this season against Tottenham, they’ve still lost just once in 27 appearances across all competitions. That was inflicted by Inter Milan, and the only other teams to avoid defeat over 90 minutes were quality outfits Man City, Chelsea and Benfica.
In fact, even away from Anfield, Liverpool have won 11 of their past 13 matches, with the exceptions a stalemate at the Etihad and a League Cup final at Wembley that saw them down Chelsea on penalties. Against teams outside the top eight, Liverpool have lead at both half time and full time in 16 of 22 league games this season.
Excluding a 5-0 League Cup win for Aston Villa back in December 2019, where Liverpool fielded the kids as the senior squad competed for the Club World Cup, the Reds have won five of six clashes with Villa since the latter returned to the top flight.
They have taken a while to get going though, with 11 of the 13 goals they scored over this period coming during the second half. Given eight of Liverpool’s nine goals across their past five appearances have also come after the break, they look well placed to at least take the second-half spoils.
PREDICTION:
LIVERPOOL TO WIN THE SECOND HALF
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