Liverpool take on Villa after UCL win over Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen.

2024-11-03

As Liverpool prepare to defend their spot atop the Premier League against Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night, the Reds ride high on recent success while the Villans aim to conquer their struggles against top-table teams on the road.

Liverpool

Liverpool return to Premier League action after a convincing 4-0 victory over German champions Bayer Leverkusen, thanks to a hat-trick from Colombian star Luis Díaz. This win extended their unbeaten run against German teams in European competitions to 12 matches.

'Like many times now, managers change their game plan when they come to Anfield or when they play us – that's also what we saw today,’ highlighted Arne Slot following the commanding victory over Die Werkself. With this win, Liverpool moved to the top of the UEFA Champions League group, showing impressive form with four consecutive wins.

Last weekend's comeback 2-1 win over Brighton further propelled Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table, aided by Manchester City’s surprise defeat to Bournemouth. Liverpool will aim to maintain their top spot against Aston Villa this weekend.

Having turned around their past fortunes against Villa, Liverpool will be confident, especially considering recent successes. They have won five of their last six Premier League home matches against the Villans, a significant improvement from their record between 2009 and 2014.

Liverpool are expected to line up in a 4—2—3—1 formation, with Darwin Núñez leading the attack against Villa.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa suffered their first defeat in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night with a 1-0 loss to Club Brugge. "We played a very good first half. We created chances but didn't score," added Unai Emery following the defeat.

He noted, "We conceded one chance from them. The match was more or less under our control. In the second half, the mistake changed everything. It's not for Mings or Martinez; it's one mistake that's strange. It's only happened one time in all my life," he explained after his side gave away a peculiar penalty.

Sitting in 6th place with 18 points (5 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses), Aston Villa will aim to bounce back to winning ways when they visit Liverpool. However, they have a challenging history, having lost 16 of their last 18 Premier League away games against sides starting the day at the top of the table. This includes a current streak of nine consecutive defeats ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

Following last weekend's 4-1 Premier League defeat to Tottenham, Villa could face back-to-back Premier League losses for the first time since May 2023. A 4-2-3-1 formation with Ollie Watkins leading the attack is expected against Liverpool.