New Delhi: Liverpool plays a couple of tough away games starting with their late-night clash against Aston Villa on Wednesday night. They have a good chance though of increasing the gap at the top by ten points with a win. At the weekend Slot reached 60 points with a shaky win over Wolves while Villa settled for a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town.
After a mid-week Merseyside derby draw ending with chaos both physically and mentally, Liverpool were cruising to victory only for a poor second-half performance. Luis Diaz had broken the deadlock followed by Mohamed Salah’s scoring through penalty which again Diaz had won for his side.
Midweek Premier League action under the lights at Villa Park — IT’S MATCHDAY 💥 pic.twitter.com/7VlSx5hmYj
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 19, 2025
The second half was marked with poor unambitious passes and it only needed Matheus Cunha’s brilliant strike from 20 yards for the Reds to concede. However, Liverpool managed to defend well enough to take home their entire three points though they failed to have a single shot on target after the break. Although they have a seven-point cushion, they are faced with tough opponents in away fixtures with the weekend seeing them play against Manchester City.
This weekend, Aston Villa have extended their unbeaten run at home across competition to 12 games. Taking home just a single point against relegation zone team Ipswich Town may have been disappointing. The Tractor Boys fielded ten men after Axel Tuanzebe got a red card in the closing minutes of the first half.
Liam Delap still managed to put Ipswich in the lead in the 56th only for Ollie Watkins to cancel the effort in the 69th minute scoring through a rebound following Marcus Rashford hitting the woodwork. Villa’s chance to claim a stake in the top four kept fading failing to convert close chances. They are now standing six points below the Champions League qualification zone.
Team News
Cody Gapko took a heavy hit during the game against Everton which saw him ruled out for the weekend clash and is likely to sit this one out as well. Tyler Morton with a shoulder issue and Joe Gomez with a hamstring injury are both going to be on the sidelines this week. However, Curtis Jones will be back from a ban and could replace Dominic Szoboszlai.
Darwin Nunez and Kostas Tsimikas could also profit from the rotation though the in-form Salah might not have a lot of respite in the upcoming heavy schedule period.
On the other hand, Emery’s side is heavily facing a defensive crisis with Boubacar Kamara now ruled out for the time being after coming off the field last weekend. He will join Pau Torres, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana. Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash and Leon Bailey are all needing a fitness test.
Tyrone Mings has recovered from his knee issue and might be able to fit in for Kamara in the back with Manchester United loanee, Rashford, close to breaking into the starting XI of the side.
Predicted lineup
Aston Villa: Martinez; Garcia, Mings, Disasi, Digne; Tielemans, McGinn; Ramsey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Diaz; Nunez
Head to Head
Liverpool and Aston Villa played their first game in 1894 and have till now faced each other 204 times across competitions. Liverpool have won 103 times while Villa have won 59 of those encounters. The two sides have played 42 draws between them.
Predictions Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
Where to watch Premier League Matchday 25 fixtures?
As Premier League Matchday 25 gets underway, fans can enjoy all the action either on television or by streaming. The matches will be available on the Star Sports network and those who prefer to stream can catch the games live on Disney+ Hotstar.
Liverpool enter a tough period as they play three games until the end of the month as they pay a visit to Villa park to face Aston Villa to secure a ten point lead at the top of the table. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
