The only commonality between disgruntled Liverpool and high-flying Aston Villa is that they sit even on 15 points in the Premier League, with all sorts of records set to tumble when they meet at Anfield here!
Match News and Current Form
After losing just four of his first 43 Premier League games at Liverpool (W30, D9), Arne Slot officially has a crisis on his hands with that number doubling in as many matches recently. The Reds last lost five league games in succession in September 1953, and equalling that notorious record would see them join Leicester City as the only reigning Premier League champions to lose five in a row. Current form isn’t the only supporting evidence of that becoming a reality, as there've been seven instances throughout English top-flight history of teams losing five league games as defending champions, and three of them have been Liverpool!
It’s an awful time then to welcome Villa, who’ve achieved the opposite in winning their last four Premier League matches after a monumental 1-0 win over Manchester City last time out. History also beckons for the Villains, who could become the first side since Leicester in their 2015/16 title winning season to beat City and Liverpool in consecutive league games, but just one win in their last 30 away league games (D5, L24) against a reigning champion means they have history against them here.
Head-to-Head History
Liverpool will be hoping their recent H2H dominance pays dividends here, having not lost any of the last ten H2Hs (W7, D3), while winning six of the last seven league encounters at home (D1).
Hot Stats and Streaks
All of Liverpool's four league defeats recently saw them concede first within the opening 15 minutes.
Just two of Liverpool’s last nine home league games were decided by a 2+ goal margin.
The pre-match favourite has won only two of Villa’s nine league games this season (D3, L4).
Four of Villa’s last five away games saw both teams score.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
After his goal against Brentford, Mohamed Salah is just one goal contribution shy of the Premier League record for one club set by Wayne Rooney (276) at Manchester United, with 13 (G8, A5) of the Egyptians 275 (G187, A88) coming against Villa. Matty Cash was the unlikely hero for the visitors against City, and he could prove dangerous once again with eight of his last 11 strikes coming away from home.
Liverpool’s injury list continues to grow with big names Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong confirmed for spells on the sidelines, while Villa have themselves confirmed Emiliano Buendia will be out for a few weeks.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
The price on Villa to score first seems highly attractive given the recent events of each team.
Author: Peter Stavrinou