Prediction: Liverpool vs Aston Villa

5th December 2010

Liverpool squandered a one-goal lead against Tottenham last weekend and ended up losing the game, meaning the Red now have to beat Villa if they want to close the gap behind the leading teams. After losing the Premier League game to Arsenal, the Villans succumbed to a Carling Cup defeat to Birmingham, so the visitors enter the game in very poor spirits.

Liverpool seemed to have found the cure for their inconsistent performances as the Reds embarked on a four-match winning run in late October and early November, but then came injuries to Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, which took the wind out of their sails. The Reds have shown some promise lately, having beaten West Ham 3:0 at home before missing the chance to beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane, while the team also clinched their place in the Europa League knockout stage thanks to 1:1 draw with Steaua. During the next few weeks, Liverpool will mostly be playing bottom table sides, and this is something they have to take advantage of and put some points on the board. The match against out-of-form Aston Villa could be the perfect opportunity to start the winning run and I’m sure the Reds will give everything to beat the Villans. Roy Hodgson will again have to make do without Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, as well as Daniel Agger and Jay Spearing, who are also on the sidelines, but the hosts are hoping the return of Joe Cole will add much needed creative spark.

This should be an emotional return for Villa boss Gerard Houllier to Anfield, the place where he spent six years of his managerial career, but don’t expect the Frenchman to do any favours to the Reds, as his Aston Villa are in a very difficult situation at the moment. The Villans sit just two points above the relegation zone after losing back to back Premiership games to Blackburn and Arsenal, with the team largely struggling to cope with numerous absentees. Given the small squad he inherited and injuries to star players, Gerard Houllier was forced to throw a couple of youngsters into the fire much sooner than he would have liked to and that is certainly one of the reasons for the under-par results. Villa are now on a three-match losing run having been eliminated from the Carling Cup by Birmingham in midweek, and the team don’t look capable of getting something from Anfield at the moment, especially when we look at the list of absentees. Ashley Young, Marc Albrighton, Emile Heskey, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell, Stilian Petrov and Fabian Delph are all unavailable, while Barry Bannan and Habib Beye remain injury doubts.

Conclusion

While still very inconsistent, Liverpool are showing signs of promise, with the return of Joe Cole set to hand the hosts a big boost. The Reds are slowly stabilizing their form and they should be able to beat severely weakened Aston Villa side, especially with the Villans completely out of confidence after the three-match losing run.

Verdict: Home win Liverpool (1)

Best Odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: Paddy Power