Aston Villa - Liverpool prediction
One of the eye-catching matches in the traditional Christmas round in the English Premier League on Boxing Day.
It will be interesting to find out if the old fox Unai Emery, who recently took over the team from Birmingham, will be able to cope with the test called Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool.
Head-to-head matches between these two teams are usually very entertaining to watch.
Liverpool, of course, win most of the time. But when Aston Villa triumph, they do it in style.
As an example, I give you their 7-2 win in 2020.
This time, however, I think the Reds will win. Which is unlikely to happen easily.
I think Aston Villa will also score at least one goal in the looming loss.
As the Villans have failed to score just once in their last 7 matches (official and friendlies).
And on the other hand, the Merseysiders have only one clean sheet in their last 6 matches .
But it was in the goalless draw against lowly Derby County in the League Cup.
Prediction: 2 and goal/goal.
Leicester vs Newcastle Prediction
Aston Villa - statistics and info
Aston Villa have a World Cup winner in their squad.
The man in question is goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who won the title with Argentina.
Along the way, he won the FIFA Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the World Cup.
However, it also means that Martinez is unlikely to be between the posts on Boxing Day against Liverpool.
Should that worry them?
I think it should. Because the Reds come to Birmingham with the three points on their mind.
In addition to Martinez, the Villans will be missing several first-team players.
Playmaker Philippe Coutinho remains out with a thigh injury.
While full-back Diego Carlos is struggling with an Achilles injury.
Still, even with these players on the roster, Birmingham would likely struggle against the Merseysiders.
The thing is, this Aston Villa team doesn't usually do well against big favorites .
The 2022/23 season has already seen them lose to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle.
Most of those losses, however, came during Steven Gerrard's tenure.
With Unai Emery as their manager, Aston Villa are transformed.
In fact, with him as their boss, they are:
- 100% in Premier League (2 wins)
- with one loss in the FA Cup (to Man Utd)
- 1-1-2 in friendlies during the World Cup
But their only win in the controls was against not just anyone, but against Chelsea.
Liverpool - statistics and info
Liverpool are in position #6 in the Premier League standings with 22 points (6-4-4).
They may be 15 points behind leaders Arsenal, but they still have a good chance of making the Top 4 at the end of the season.
Their goal is to qualify for the Champions League. And for that to happen, they need to go on a winning streak.
In fact, Poole have already started winning before the World Cup break, beating Tottenham and Southampton.
And in their last control before the resumption of the championship in the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp's players took a prestigious victory over the Italian champions Milan with a convincing 4-1.
There is another piece of good news for Liverpool.
Only two of their first team players are unavailable for the Boxing Day match due to injuries.
These are Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, who should return in January.
All others are reported to be healthy and ready for this meeting on Monday.
Ibrahima Konate may miss the game as he played for France in the World Cup final.
But Jurgen Klopp needn't worry too much about that. He has some decent alternatives at that position.
Squads and injured footballers
Aston Villa
Lineup: Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Lewis; Buendia, Ings, Bailey
Injured: Carlos, Ramsey, Coutinho
Out: Martinez
Liverpool
Lineup: Alison; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Nunes, Carvalho
Injured: Milner, Firmino, Jones, Arthur, Diaz, Jota
Out: Conate
League standings and form
| # | Team | M | P | R | H | OG | DG | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 11 | 37 | |
| 2 | Man City | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 14 | 32 | |
| 3 | Newcastle | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 11 | 30 | |
| 4 | Tottenham | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 21 | 29 | |
| 5 | Man Utd | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 26 | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 22 | |
| 7 | Brighton | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 21 | |
| 8 | Chelsea | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 21 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 26 | 19 | |
| 10 | Brentford | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 25 | 19 | |
| 11 | Palace | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 19 | |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 18 | |
| 13 | Leicester | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 17 | |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 32 | 16 | |
| 15 | Leeds | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 26 | 15 | |
| 16 | West Ham | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 14 | |
| 17 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 14 | |
| 18 | Nottingham | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 13 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 12 | |
| 20 | Wolves | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 10 |
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