Football craze will return to action after a two weeks long pause as Liverpool travels to Midlands to take on Aston Villa today at Villa Park. Liverpool will be arriving in the arena with a clear aim to qualify for the Europa League and finish ahead of arch rivals Everton on points table.
Liverpool was hoping to finish in top four but a defeat against Southampton in their last encounter dashed their hopes and are now placed seventh on points table. Chelsea is placed at fourth with 10 points ahead of the Reds.
Aston Villa are placed third at bottom of the table and are really hungry for points. Paul Lambert’s team dropped in to the bottom three after Wigan victory over Norwich on Saturday pushed them down so a positive outcome against Reds is a must for Villas to gain some respite on points table. A victory will pull them out of drop zone and they can finish off at 16th place.
With survival in mind Aston Villa can prove to be really threatening for Liverpool.
Team News
Aston Villa Inclusions
In a must win game Aston Villa is expected to play their best guns and is likely to include fit again Darren Bent, Nathan Baker and Karim El Ahmadi in the lineup Midfielder Fabian Delph is also anticipated to be seen in action after serving two match ban.
Aston Villa Exclusions
Ciaran Clark and Brett Holman are doubtful to be seen in action. Clark is suffering from a shoulder injury but he may pass fitness test while Brett Holman is having hamstring problem.
Liverpool Exclusions
Liverpool is having no fresh injury issues so no one is expected to be dropped on fitness grounds. Midfielder Joe Allen is out for the rest of the season after having surgery on a shoulder injury and he joins Martin Kelly and Fabio Borini on the sidelines.
Liverpool Inclusions
Liverpool is expected to welcome back defender Jamie Carragher and Goal Keeper Goalkeeper Pepe Reina into the starting eleven. Jamie Carragher returned to full rhythm during training last week. Brad Jones is likely to be dropped back to the bench.
Anticipated Outcome
Aston Villa have a decent track record against Liverpool. Recently they have won three out of four encounters against Liverpool. With recent record and Villa’s quest for victory it can be anticipated that they will be able to clinch another thriller 2-1 and to pull them out of danger zone.
Don’t Forget to Share your anticipations
Don’t agree with my prediction? Never forget to share your anticipated starting eleven, team news and match score in the comment box below.
