Preview: LIVERPOOL vs Aston Villa

So, that one rolls around again – the Reds’ latest ‘bogey’ team. You have to look back to Roy Hodgson’s time at Anfield for the last time Liverpool beat Aston Villa at Anfield; a worrying statistic, indeed.

On paper, it should’ve been a straight-forward proposition for Liverpool, with Villa struggling under ‘tactics Tim’ Sherwood, a man widely hailed as a bit of a joker after some of his bluster whilst managing Spurs. However, it was Sherwood’s side that put Liverpool (rather embarrassingly) to the sword at Wembley last season in the FA Cup semi-final.

As things stand, Villa are sitting in in 17th in the table, with 1 win and just a point above the relegation zone. Whilst Liverpool are currently 13th, sitting on eight points – four ahead of Saturday afternoon’s opposition.

Brendan Rodgers and Tim Sherwood both go into the game under great scrutiny, with Liverpool’s Rodgers particularly in need of a result after failing to win since the lucky victory over Bournemouth in August. In short: both sides need a victory but, being the home team, Rodgers perhaps more so.

Both sides enter the game with injury concerns but, again, it’s Liverpool in the worse position with captain Jordan Henderson out long-term, as is Dejan Lovren, whilst former Aston Villa man Christian Benteke is likely to miss out. New signing from Germany, Roberto Firmino, is also a major doubt.

As for the away side, Idrissa Gueye and Gabby Agbonlahor are both doubts, whilst Adama Traore remains a long-term casualty.

So, despite this one being a rare 3pm kick-off for Liverpool (and a rare non-televised game) all eyes will be on Anfield with two managers under intense pressure to get a result. It’s not too harsh to say that it could be a decisive result for either man.