In the wake of Liverpool’s scrappy 1-0 away victory over Blackburn and Aston Villa’s impressive 2-0 home victory over West Brom, the two sides will meet on Sunday at Wembley Stadium for what hopes to be a thrilling match. I interviewed James Clark, editor and writer for Read Aston Villa, to get a taste of how the opposition are feeling.
Liverpool are coming off an important 2-0 league win at home over Newcastle on Monday. The 5th place Reds picked up an early goal from Raheem Sterling as he cut inside on his favored right foot and just managed to beat Tim Krul. Newcastle had plenty of chances to pull a goal back, but the match was ultimately put to bed when Joe Allen scored for Liverpool towards the end. After two devastating league defeats, the Reds managed to pick up the pieces by punching their tickets to Wembley and leaving Newcastle with nothing earlier in the week.
Staving off a relegation scare, Aston Villa were able to pick up three points from Tottenham at White Hart Lane with a 1-0 win on Saturday. Christian Benteke put the Villans in front – 35 minutes gone – with a thumping header that beat Michel Vorm. The Villa back line were able to hold off Tottenham despite a late red card, holding Harry Kane to only one shot on goal. Following the FA Cup quarterfinal victory over West Brom, 15th placed Villa thrashed Sunderland, but lost two straight matches, which had some believing Villa might get relegated.
James, which Villa player do you think poses the biggest threat for the Liverpool defence?
“Benteke. His power on the pitch is unlike anyone in the Premier League. He’s not just a traditional target man; he’s also great, if not better on the ground which was shown against the likes of QPR recently. His composure is something to be in awe of also, shows how much of a top player he really is.”
Which Liverpool player do you fear the most?
“Coutinho. He’s been a magician this season and made things tick for Liverpool when they have been missing the goals and creativity of Suárez from last season. He can destroy a defence of our quality with a few movements, so we have to defend well.”
Are there any Liverpool players in the squad you would be glad to see in the starting XI because they might be easy for Villa to handle?
“Maybe Mignolet will be easy to deal with, especially if we target him from set pieces and aim on his weaker left side, we’ll do well. For defenders, I’d like Lovren to start as he’ll be so low on confidence after a poor season.”
Realistically, where do you feel Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively will finish in the table?
“I think Liverpool will scrape 5th maybe, and Villa will probably finish 15th-16th.”
Which club will advance to the final against Arsenal/Reading?
“Truly, I think Liverpool have too much; Henderson will control the midfield, and we’ll struggle with the space left. Coutinho will take advantage… I think the game will be tight in the first half with nerves being shown on the pitch, but Villa now have a lot of confidence especially on the counter attack. The big pitch could play to our advantage, and Liverpool are growing a reputation for not having the bottle for the important games.”
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Regardless of who is on the pitch, Tim Sherwood has a strong Villa side at his disposal. With two powerful sides battling it out at Wembley, anything is possible. The big question for Sunday’s match: will Villa’s firepower be too much for Liverpool to handle, or will the Reds be able to put their nerves aside and win the match?
