At A Glance
Aston Villa’s Premier League campaign resumes with a Boxing Day clash against Liverpool.
Unai Emery masterminded wins in his first two league games in charge of the club before the World Cup break, leaving Villa just four points adrift of the Reds in the table.
A training camp in Dubai and several warm-up matches have prepared the Villans for the top-flight’s resumption.
Liverpool will be looking to improve upon an away record that has seen them win only once in six road trips in the league this season.
That victory came in their last away game when they overcame Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 thanks to a Mohamed Salah brace.
The Egyptian has been his team’s talisman this term, netting 14 goals in all competitions.
Standout Stats
Aston Villa have lost eight of the nine most recent league meetings, with the exception being an extraordinary 7-2 home victory in October 2020.
Liverpool's only other defeat in their past 21 Premier League visits to Villa Park came in May 2011 (W14, D5, L2).
The solitary previous Boxing Day league fixture between these teams was Liverpool's 2-1 away victory in 2001.
Villa have won three of their past four league matches, including both under Unai Emery.
They can earn three consecutive Premier League home wins in a season for the first time since a run of four from August to October 2007.
With four goals in four games, Danny Ings has scored as many times as in his previous 26 league appearances.
Liverpool, in sixth, are outside the top four on Christmas Day for the first time since 2015-16 when Jurgen Klopp had been manager for only two months.
The Reds have dropped 20 points in their 14 league matches this season. They only dropped 22 points in the whole of 2021-22.
They are looking to win three top-flight fixtures in a row for the first time this season.
Liverpool have won five consecutive Boxing Day games by an aggregate score of 15-0 since a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City in 2013.
They can equal the top-flight record for most successive Boxing Day clean sheets: six by Manchester United from 1996 to 2001.
Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his past four starts against Aston Villa in all competitions.
The Last Meeting
Douglas Luiz gave Villa the perfect start after three minutes, but it proved to be a narrow loss for the hosts back in May.
Joel Matip equalised minutes later and a pulsating encounter ensued as both teams went for the victory.
Ultimately, it was a second half header from Sadio Mane that sealed the points for the Reds.
Team News
Villa will be without World Cup winner Emi Martínez for Boxing Day, with the Argentine granted time off following his exploits in Qatar.
Robin Olsen is set to deputise between the post in his absence, while Jacob Ramsey has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Roberto Firmino and James Milner will be absent for Liverpool, who expect to have Trent Alexander-Arnold back.
Luis Diaz, Artur Melo, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones remain sidelined.
The Boss
“They’re a difficult team with the amazing way they play. Last year, I played against them with Villarreal in the Champions League semi-finals and we lost two times. On Boxing Day, I think it’s going to be different. They started the league with some doubts; they have 22 points and we have 18. If we think we can win against them, we can be really close to them. If we get our best performance, I think we can do it. We will be with our fans in our stadium at Villa Park and I think it’s going to be a very special match.”
Unai Emery
