England - Premier League
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Played
December 18, 2011 2:05 PM GMT
Villa Park — Birmingham
Referee:‬ P. Walton‎
Attendance:‬ 37460‎
 
 
Craig Bellamy 11′
 
Martin Skrtel 15′

Premier League Preview: Aston Villa v Liverpool

Stewart Downing, who makes his return to the Midlands, scored the winner in this fixture last year and there could be a reunion for Emile Heskey against Kenny Dalglish's side

By Joel Lamy

More On :  Aston Villa, Liverpool, Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Aston Villa's Emile Heskey listens to the crowd noise as he snatches a late winner at Wolverhampton (Getty Images)

PROBABLE LINEUPS

ASTON VILLA

Guzan
Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock
Herd, Petrov, Bannan
Albrighton, Bent, N’Zogbia
LIVERPOOL
 
Reina
Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique
Adam, Henderson, Rodriguez
Kuyt, Suarez, Downing

Brad Guzan will continue deputising for Shay Given, while Gabriel Agbonlahor is suspended having picked up his fifth booking of the season against Bolton. His omission could see Emile Heskey (against his former side), Stephen Ireland or Nathan Delfouneso get a starting place. Fabian Delph has recovered from a knee injury which saw him miss the Bolton match.

For Liverpool, Jay Spearing is suspended for the second game of his ban and Steven Gerrard has not recovered from his ankle injury.


 DID YOU KNOW?

  • Aston Villa’s 2-1 win at Bolton was their first away win this season in all competitions.
  • They have had just 63 shots on target in the league, fewer than any other team.
  • Villa have lost two of their last three home games.
  • At Villa Park, the home side have 38 league wins to Liverpool’s 27, while 21 have ended in a draw.
  • Villa player of the year Stewart Downing (pictured right) could make his return at Villa Park. Downing scored the only goal in this fixture on the last day of last season before making the move to Anfield.
  • That was Villa’s first win at home against Liverpool in 13 matches going back to a 2-1 win in 1998.
  • Liverpool have the best defensive record having only conceded more than a single goal on one occasion – a 4-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.
  • Liverpool’s games have produced the fewest goals this season with only 31 in 15 matches.
  • Their win against QPR was just their third at Anfield in eight matches.
  • The Reds have tasted defeat in just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Aston Villa 0-9 Liverpool
    34.43 %
  • Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool
    18.97 %
  • Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
    10.92 %
Head to Head
England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Mar 31, 2013 Aston Villa 1 - Liverpool 2
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Dec 15, 2012 Liverpool 1 - Aston Villa 3
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Apr 7, 2012 Liverpool 1 - Aston Villa 1
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ Dec 18, 2011 Aston Villa 0 - Liverpool 2
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England - Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ May 22, 2011 Aston Villa 1 - Liverpool 0
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Last Five Matches
Aston Villa
May 19, 2013Wigan Athletic 2 - Aston Villa 2EPL
May 11, 2013Aston Villa 1 - Chelsea FC 2EPL
May 4, 2013Norwich City 1 - Aston Villa 2EPL
Apr 29, 2013Aston Villa 6 - Sunderland 1EPL
Apr 22, 2013Man Utd. 3 - Aston Villa 0EPL
Liverpool
May 19, 2013Liverpool 1 - QPR 0EPL
May 12, 2013Fulham 1 - Liverpool 3EPL
May 5, 2013Liverpool 0 - Everton 0EPL
Apr 27, 2013Newcastle 0 - Liverpool 6EPL
Apr 21, 2013Liverpool 2 - Chelsea FC 2EPL
Odds
Returns: Aston Villa £710.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Draw £360.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Liverpool £16.20 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Team News
Available Squads
22Bradley GuzanGoalkeeper
6Alan HuttonDefender
13Stephen WarnockDefender
5Richard DunneDefender
19James CollinsDefender
10Charles N'ZogbiaMidfielder
12Marc AlbrightonMidfielder
16Fabian DelphMidfielder
19Stilian PetrovMidfielder
14Nathan DelfounesoStriker
18Emile HeskeyStriker
33Andy MarshallGoalkeeper
6Ciaran ClarkDefender
24Carlos Javier CuéllarDefender
25Barry BannanMidfielder
35Daniel JohnsonMidfielder
26Andreas WeimannStriker
36Graham BurkeMidfielder
25José Reina PaezGoalkeeper
2Glen JohnsonDefender
3José EnriqueDefender
5Daniel AggerDefender
37Martin SkrtelDefender
14Jordan HendersonMidfielder
19Stewart DowningMidfielder
16Charlie AdamMidfielder
33Jonjo ShelveyMidfielder
7Luis SuárezStriker
39Craig BellamyStriker
32DoniGoalkeeper
16Sebastián CoatesDefender
23Jamie CarragherDefender
34Martin KellyDefender
11Maxi RodríguezMidfielder
8Andy CarrollStriker
11Dirk KuytStriker
Players to Watch
Stilian Petrov
Stilian Petrov
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 19
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
Rumours said the Bulgarian was available for transfer and Alex McLeish confirmed that he was willing to listen to offers, although he doesn't want to lose the midfielder. Having responded with a goal against Bolton, Petrov will want to put in another big performance in order to convince his manager (or any others watching) that he is still a Premier League player.
Luis Suárez
Luis Suárez
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 7
Games Goals YC RC
33 23 10 0
With his disciplinary case about allegations of racism not concluding until next week, it will be interesting to see if Suarez is distracted or not when he lines up again Villa. The Midlands club will probably be set-up well defensively, so the magic of Suarez will most likely be needed once again after he scored the winner last week.
Prediction
Villa have come up against both Manchester clubs and Tottenham this season but offered little to no threat, and with Gabriel Agbonlahor suspended and Darren Bent having not scored in four, Liverpool will feel they just need to score once to come away with the points.
Editor's Prediction
Aston Villa 0
Liverpool 1
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie
Striker
Man Utd. 		26 3
Luis Suárez Luis Suárez
Striker
Liverpool 		23 0
Gareth Bale Gareth Bale
Midfielder
Tottenham 		21 0
C. Benteke C. Benteke
Striker
Aston Villa 		19 3
Michu Michu
Midfielder
Swansea City 		19 0