Preview: LIVERPOOL vs Aston Villa

Liverpool will be without last season 2nd top scorer but will have Balotelli available against Villa

England’s Raheem Sterling has started the season in red-hot form and his performance at White Hart Lane two weeks ago was no exception. The teenager not only opened the scoring for the Reds but also earned himself man of the match for a second time this season in only three games. Sterling is renowned for his pace and he demonstrated this on Saturday hitting a top speed of 34.22km/h according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. If he continues his form into the Villa game then the Reds may see themselves continue their title push and put pressure on their rivals.

All eyes were on Mario Balotelli on Sunday as the new Liverpool signing made his debut for the reds. With Balotelli having scored on his debuts for both Inter and AC Milan as well as for Manchester City, the pressure was on. The Italian seemed to impress Brendan Rogers and the Sturridge – Balotelli partnership seemed to gel as the game went on. Balotelli wasn’t afraid to have an attempt on goal, and found himself with a tally of five attempts according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index and the striker could pose a serious threat to the villa defence.

After being held responsible for letting Stephan Jovetic draw first blood at Manchester city, Alberto Moreno had a lot to prove at White Hart Lane and he certainly impressed. Moreno helped Liverpool maintain their clean sheet on Sunday by making a total of nine clearances according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, and with an 87.7% pass completion Moreno certainly helped Liverpool build their attacks from the back, but his defensive skills will be tested against villa as Agbonlahor proved a handful for the Hull defence and getting himself on the score sheet for his persistency.

Aston Villa will also go into this game with heads held high after a win over Hull in their last fixture, and with Tom Cleverley brought in from Manchester United the Villa team and fans will have even more to be confident about.

Although Villa managed to pull of the win in the end, it was not an easy ride with their defence being tested regularly, Aly Cissokho will see his old team mates when they travel to Liverpool on the 13th and he will most likely face the deadly strike partnership of Sturridge and Balotelli which will prove a huge task, but making eight clearances in the game against Hull we know that Cissokho is defensively capable and he will need to be if Villa are to stand a chance against the deadly duo.

Ron Vlaar aided Cissokho in the defensive effort making a total of 5 clearances according to the EA Player Performance Index, showing that although the Villa defence was tested the defensive pair were up to the task and they will certainly need to be up to the task if they are going to hold off Liverpool in their up coming game.

Andreas Weimann has started the season in fine form. The Villa forward has earned a place in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index team of the season, scoring two goals in his first three games. Paul Lambert will certainly be hoping his striker can continue his form that has helped see Villa go unbeaten over the first three games.

Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars with at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate team.

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