Premier League | Gameweek 11

Nov 9, 2024 at 8pm UK

Anfield

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Match preview

Slot, who Liverpool supporters were initially calling for as Jürgen Klopp's successor, gave Leverkusen boss and 2005 Champions League winner Xabi Alonso a tough lesson in football on Tuesday evening. A lot of that had to do with a captivating Colombian.

Diaz got past the Bundesliga champions' backline three times at Anfield, while Gakpo also scored his first Champions League goal on Bonfire Night. Liverpool now lead the Champions League standings by two points.

Liverpool are leading the way in Europe and in the Premier League, and they made the most of Arsenal and Manchester City's mistakes in gameweek 10. They came back from a one-goal deficit to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 and open up a two-point gap over the reigning champions.

While some thought it would be a two-horse race between Man City and Arsenal for the Premier League title, Slot has surprised everyone by putting Liverpool right back in the mix. He's broken records left and right, most recently overtaking Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti in one category.

Leverkusen were crushed by the rampant Reds, who have now won six home games in a row in all competitions. They've scored at least twice in all of those games. Last weekend, they fought back from a goal down to win a Premier League match for the 100th time.

Before Champions League matchweek four got underway, Aston Villa were looking pretty impressive compared to the other 35 teams in Europe's elite competition. They'd already shown their strength against BSC Young Boys, Bayern Munich and Bologna, and then faced another 'B' team – if you will – in Club Brugge.

After a cautious first half in which neither goalkeeper had to pick the ball out of the back of the net, Tyrone Mings, Villa's captain, made a mistake. He picked up the ball after Emiliano Martinez had taken a goal kick, but he didn't know that, and the Brugge players did.

Hans Vanaken scored from the penalty spot to put Villa out of the competition for the second time this season. It was their third loss in a row, after being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Crystal Palace and losing 4-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Villa are one of three teams on 18 points, but they sit sixth because their goal difference is worse than Arsenal and Chelsea's. The Lions are heading to Anfield without a win against a top-two Premier League team away from home in almost 25 years. Their last win against a top team away from home was against Leeds United in January 2000.

Villa haven't won any of their last nine away matches against teams in the top two of the Premier League rankings. Their winless run against Liverpool is now at eight matches in all tournaments, although that streak does include May's 3-3 thriller at Villa Park.

Recent Performance

Liverpool Premier League form:WWWWDW

Liverpool form (all competitions):WWDWWW

Aston Villa Premier League form:WDDWDL

Aston Villa form (all competitions):WWDLLL

Team News

It looks like we're still waiting on Liverpool's injury list to clear. Harvey Elliott (foot), Federico Chiesa (fitness), Alisson Becker (thigh) and Diogo Jota (abdominal) won't be back in action before the international break.

Slot didn't hold back with some bold tactical moves on Tuesday night, particularly putting hat-trick hero Diaz through the middle. However, the South American might switch back to left-wing duties with the rested Darwin Nunez back in attack.

Another change on the flanks could see Andrew Robertson move over to replace Kostas Tsimikas, who is threatening to take his place as Liverpool's first-choice left-back. The fresh legs of Dominik Szoboszlai may also be preferred to Curtis Jones.

Villa were also without Matty Cash (calf) and ex-Everton star Ross Barkley (unspecified) for the midweek trip to Belgium, and Emery doesn't expect either of them to be back for the Anfield trip.

After a terrible start to the Champions League, Lions captain Mings is likely to be benched, though not because of his behaviour, but because of his injury. Emery probably won't risk starting him twice in a few days after his ACL injury.

Mings being demoted would create a spot in defence for Pau Torres to fill, while Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey are also set to return over Boubacar Kamara and Leon Bailey further forward.

Possible starting lineups

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Konsa, Torres, Carlos, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins