At A Glance
Anfield is the stage for Aston Villa’s penultimate game of the Premier League season on Saturday as the Villans take on Liverpool.
Unai Emery’s team journey to Merseyside looking to further enhance their hopes of a top-seven finish following last weekend’s 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa are without a win in their last three away trips in the top flight but they do hold the eighth-best record on their travels.
Liverpool have put together seven victories on the bounce to boost their ambitions of finishing in the top four.
Their latest triumph came away at Leicester City (3-0) last weekend thanks to a brace from Curtis Jones and one from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
However, boss Jurgen Klopp won’t be on the touchline for the Reds after picking up a two-match ban.
Standout Stats
Liverpool have won nine of the past 10 league meetings, with the exception being a 7-2 loss at Villa Park in October 2020.
Aston Villa have lost on four successive Premier League visits to Anfield since a 1-0 win in September 2014.
The Reds’ only defeat in the past 41 home league fixtures was by 2-1 against Leeds last October (W31, D9).
Ollie Watkins has five Premier League goals versus Liverpool, more than against any other opponent.
Liverpool have won their final home game in each of the past six seasons.
Aston Villa need one more win to equal the club Premier League record of 18 in a 38-match season, set in 1995-96 when they finished fourth.
Liverpool have won 14 of their 15 most recent league matches played in May, only dropping points in a 1-1 home draw versus Spurs last year.
Unai Emery is averaging 1.96 points per game at Villa, the third-best rate of any manager to take charge of at least 10 matches in the Premier League this season. Pep Guardiola averages 2.41 and Mikel Arteta 2.31.
Liverpool need two goals to reach 100 in all competitions for the fifth time in six seasons.
Villa are guaranteed a top-10 Premier League finish for the first time in 12 years.
The Merseysiders have conceded 42 Premier League goals this season, equalling their worst defensive record in a full campaign under Jurgen Klopp.
Mohamed Salah has scored in nine consecutive home games in all competitions, a record for a Liverpool player.
Emery is winless in seven meetings with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in all competitions since beating them in the 2016 Europa League final with Sevilla (D2, L5).
The Last Meeting
Unai Emery suffered his first Premier League defeat in charge of Aston Villa as they fell to a 3-1 Boxing Day reverse against Liverpool.
It was a lively clash full of chances for both sides at Villa Park, with Mohamed Salah handing the visitors an early fifth-minute lead which was doubled by Virgil van Dijk before the break.
Ollie Watkins’ header just before the hour mark, his fourth goal of the season, deservedly gave the Villans hope.
But Liverpool substitute Stefan Bajcetic added a third for the Reds nine minutes from time.
Team News
Philippe Coutinho has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The attacking midfielder has not featured since mid-February, but he did return to the club’s matchday squad against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month.
Roberto Firmino is in line to feature in his final Anfield game, while fellow forward Darwin Nunez is sidelined.
Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Calvin Ramsay have all been ruled out.
The Boss
“They have very good players, they have a very good structure and they have strong players in each position. They have very high-level players and a good bench to use in the second half, and they also have a very good coach in Klopp. The crowd there are supporting them a lot; that is what we are going to face. I want to play against them, preparing the match and taking our moments. We want to be successful more than them in 90 minutes – that is the difficulty we are going to face. We need to be clinical.”
Unai Emery
