Aston Villa vs Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

Villa Park volition play big to a fascinating lucifer connected Friday evening, arsenic Aston Villa invited Liverpool successful the Premier League, with some sides bidding to unafraid Champions League shot for adjacent term.

Liverpool are 4th successful the Premier League table but are lone up of fifth-placed Villa connected extremity difference, portion sixth-placed Bournemouth beryllium 4 points down the duo with 2 games left.

Match preview

There is nary uncertainty that Villa's Premier League signifier has suffered of precocious owed to their engagement successful the Europa League, but the conflict has been worthy it, with Unai Emery's broadside booking their spot successful the last of the European contention courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate occurrence implicit Nottingham Forest.

Villa person lone taken 1 constituent from their past 3 league games, drawing 2-2 with Burnley past clip retired aft successive losses to Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.

Emery's broadside are 5th successful the table, though, 4 points up of sixth-placed Bournemouth, truthful qualification for adjacent season's Champions League via their league presumption could beryllium secured successful this gameweek.

Villa volition person different accidental done the Europa League, though, arsenic beating Freiburg successful the last connected May 20 would besides guarantee that they instrumentality to the Champions League for the 2026-27 campaign.

The omens are not precisely superb for Villa considering that conscionable 1 triumph has arrived from their past 16 Premier League games against Liverpool - the celebrated 7-2 triumph astatine Villa Park successful October 2020.

Liverpool, meanwhile, volition participate this lucifer disconnected the backmost of a 1-1 gully with Chelsea, and it was different uninspiring show from the reigning Premier League champions, who person been disconnected the gait this term.

The Reds mislaid their past distant crippled astatine Old Trafford connected May 3, going down 3-2 to Manchester United, but they are astir determination successful presumption of securing Champions League qualification for adjacent season.

Liverpool tin besides inactive decorativeness 3rd this term, but Arne Slot's squad would request to triumph their last 2 league games and anticipation that third-placed Man United suffer some of theirs, with a plaything successful extremity quality besides needed.

It does look that Slot volition beryllium keeping his occupation astatine Anfield contempt the team's struggles this season, and Liverpool volition beryllium determined to wrapper up a Champions League decorativeness up of their last crippled of the run astatine location to Brentford, which could beryllium a tricky affair.

Liverpool lone person the ninth-best distant grounds successful the Premier League this season, losing 8 of their 18 matches, and it is wide that superior betterment is required adjacent word if the Reds are to marque a superior situation for the Premier League rubric erstwhile again.

Aston Villa Premier League form:

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Aston Villa signifier (all competitions):

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Liverpool Premier League form:

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Liverpool signifier (all competitions):

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Team News

Villa volition again beryllium missing Boubacar Kamara (knee), Alysson (groin) and Amadou Onana (calf) for Friday's clash with Liverpool, but the location broadside are different successful beardown signifier for the contest.

Emiliano Buendia has scored doubly successful his past 3 appearances and is expected to instrumentality to the starting broadside here, having dropped down to the seat against Burnley past clip out.

Ollie Watkins has been progressive successful 12 goals successful his past 13 appearances for Villa, scoring 9 times successful the process, and the England planetary volition erstwhile again pb the line.

As for Liverpool, Conor Bradley (knee), Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Giovanni Leoni (knee) and Wataru Endo (foot) are decidedly retired of the top-five conflict connected Friday night.

Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konate (thigh), Alisson (fitness), Mohamed Salah (thigh) and Florian Wirtz (illness) each request to beryllium assessed earlier last decisions connected their engagement tin beryllium made.

Alexander Isak featured disconnected the seat against Chelsea past clip retired aft recovering from injury, and the Sweden planetary could present beryllium introduced into the starting broadside against Villa.

Aston Villa imaginable starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Lindelof, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins

Liverpool imaginable starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak

We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool

It is pugnacious to backmost either with immoderate existent assurance astatine the moment, and 3 of their past six meetings person finished level, truthful we are expecting a low-scoring gully to hap connected Friday night.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.