STAR PREVIEW Tues: Aston Villa v Liverpool

Liverpool’s title hopes were dealt a huge blow when Tottenham drew 1-1 at Anfield on Saturday, and they could be in for a tough night as they face Aston Villa.

Their 1-1 draw with Tottenham means they now need a Manchester City defeat in the last three games whilst also outscoring their rivals until the end of the season, and on the evidence of City’s 5-0 trashing of Newcastle, that’s unlikely to happen.

We can still expect a strong performance from Liverpool, who faced a resolute Spurs defence and an excellent counterattack, which resulted in Son Heung-min’s opener. From then it was always going to be hard to break down the Tottenham rearguard, and whilst Luis Diaz forced an equaliser, they couldn’t find a winner.

Aston Villa v Liverpool
Premier League
20:00 Sky Sports Main Event HD / Sky Sports Premier League HD / Sky Sports Ultra HD

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
DC 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 1-0 Aston Villa
APR 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa
JAN 2021 FA CUP Aston Villa 1-4 Liverpool
OCT 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool
JUL 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
DEC 2019 EFL CUP Aston Villa 5-0 Liverpool
NOV 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
FEB 2016 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 0-6 Liverpool
SEP 2015 PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool 3-2 Aston Villa
APR 2015 FA CUP Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool

Relegation had been a worry for Aston Villa after a poor run of form but back-to-back wins against Norwich (2-0) and Burnley (3-1) have all but sealed their Premier League place and spirits amongst Steven Gerrard’s side should be high.

Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings scored in both those games, and they can provide a serious threat against Liverpool if Gerrard plays them both upfront once again, especially with Emi Buendia playing a star role against Burnley.

Villa should bring some confidence to this encounter, but facing Liverpool is an entirely different proposition to playing sides struggling for survival.

Liverpool had won their past six games before a draw with Tottenham that was more than creditable – and a price of 4/9 is understandable for them to get back on the winning trail. However, that price doesn’t have huge appeal here and the best value could come from backing Trent Alexander-Arnold to assist a goal.

Alexander-Arnold has been in excellent form this season, with 18 assists in all competitions and 12 in the Premier League, and he was heavily involved in Liverpool’s attempts to find a winner against Spurs at the weekend. He landed four shots on target there but was also a constant threat down the flank and Villa could struggle to cope with his crossing ability tonight.

WILLIAM KEDJANYI

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