Liverpool go into their home fixture with Aston Villa unbeaten in the new year, off the back of home wins against Hull City and Oldham, and having coming out on top in an 8 goal thriller at The Britannia against Stoke City. This leaves Brendan Rodgers’ men in a healthy run of form going into what should be a routine home performance against the Midlands side.
However routine the clash may look on paper, the Redmen will have to be wary of an Aston Villa side who are often unpredictable; see last year’s corresponding fixture. An embarrassing 3-1 defeat came a mere hours after Rodgers spoke, rather optimistically, of a potential title-winning campaign in the offing. This year, sights are aimed at an assault on the Champions League places, and Liverpool’s home form has had a major part to play in this.
The squad for Liverpool will include fit-again Daniel Sturridge, who made his return as a substitute at Stoke and announced himself with a goal and an assist. He will be looking to rekindle the partnership with Luis Suarez, a combination which Anfield has been longing to see again for the duration of Sturridge’s injury. The question on Liverpool fans’ minds will be where Sturridge will fit, with the trio of Sterling, Coutinho and Suarez appearing too in-form to drop. One potential solution is to change system, and play with an attacking 4-2-2-2 which sees Sturridge replace a midfielder – probably Lucas. Other than guesswork, it is impossible for us to know Brendan Rodgers’ thoughts, and the line-up will be interesting to see.
Meanwhile, for the visitors, defender Nathan Baker will miss the game after suffering concussion in their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Monday night. Due to the centre back’s absence, it is unlikely that Villa will continue with the 3 at the back experimented on Monday, and revert to a back 4. However, they will be buoyed by the arrival in the squad of English left back Ryan Bertrand, who has joined on a 6 month loan-deal from Chelsea. The 24 year old will be eligible to make his debut, if selected. In other squad news, Chris Herd remains side-lined with a hamstring injury, and full back Joe Bennett is back in contention after recovering from a back problem. Striker Grant Holt could also make a debut for Villa, after being loaned in from Wigan midweek.
No match is a formality, but Liverpool can approach this one with confidence. They have been devastating at times this season when playing at Anfield, and will look to replicate one of their stellar home performances on Saturday.
Predicted result: Liverpool 4-1 Aston Villa
Predicted Line ups:
Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson, Skrtel, Toure, Cissokho, Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, Suarez.
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Clark, Vlaar, Bertrand, Delph, El-Ahmadi, Westwood, Bacuna, Agbonlahor, Benteke.
Betting tips:
1) ‘SAS’ – Say what you like about the name, but the fact is that the Sturridge and Suarez pairing gets results, and gets goals. Either of the players, or both, to score anytime is an attractive bet to be had.
2) Both teams to score – Despite playing well against weaker opposition at Anfield this season, Liverpool have struggled to keep a clean sheet. With Christian Benteke breaking his goal drought on Monday night, and Liverpool’s notorious problems at set pieces, both teams to score is a distinct possibility.
3) Continuing with Liverpool’s habit of being involved in high scoring games this season, having a punt on over 2.5 goals would surely be considered as safe as a bet can get.
4) MOTM – as has happened so many times this year, Luis Suarez could well put on a master class for the Anfield faithful. I wouldn’t bet against him terrorising the opposition and picking up the Man of The Match award.
