At a Glance
Aston Villa take on the reigning Premier League champions Liverpool at Villa Park on Sunday.
After winning their first two games against Sheffield United and Fulham, Villa are looking to win their first three league matches for the first time since the 1962-63 season.
It’s also been 120 years since the club kept a clean sheet in each of their first three league games, dating back to the 1900-01 campaign.
Liverpool have made a strong start to their title defence, winning their opening three top-flight matches.
Jurgen Klopp’s team have beaten Leeds (4-3), Chelsea (2-0) and Arsenal (3-1) to take maximum points so far.
However, the Merseysiders suffered their first defeat of the campaign in a midweek Carabao Cup loss to Arsenal.
Standout Stats
Jack Grealish has scored two goals in his last three Premier League games for Aston Villa, as many as in his previous 19. He’s looking to score in back-to-back games in the competition for the first time since October 2019.
Aston Villa are on the longest current unbeaten run of any side in the Premier League (6 – W4 D2), with the Villans looking to win three consecutively in the competition for the first time since April 2010.
Jack Grealish has scored two goals in his last three Premier League games for Aston Villa, as many as in his previous 19. He’s looking to score in back-to-back games in the competition for the first time since October 2019.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa were fighting for their Premier League lives when the two sides met towards the end of last season.
And despite a spirited performance from the visitors, Liverpool broke their resistance late on at Anfield.
Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones scored to leave heading home empty-handed.
Team News
Kortney Hause sustained an injury against Stoke City on Thursday night, with the extent of the injury not yet known.
Bjorn Engels is back in training after a spell on the sidelines, while Wesley and Tom Heaton remain out.
For Liverpool, Jordan Henderson was set to train on Friday afternoon as he recovers from a muscle injury.
Thiago Alcantara and Mane are currently isolating after testing positive for Coronavirus, while Joel Matip and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also out of the match.
The Boss
"Everybody is beatable on the day. We’ve just got beaten by a Championship team, so that proves everybody is beatable. Their cumulative record over the past two seasons is incredible with the points tally that they’ve got. Them and Manchester City have been way out ahead of everybody over the last two years. It will be a really tough game and they’ve had a good start to the season, but there’s no reason why we can’t feel that we’re more athletic and robust than the team that faced them last season."
Dean Smith
