Liverpool V Aston Villa

English Premiership 2009/2010

Liverpool V Aston Villa

Kick-Off: Monday 24^th August – 20:00 GMT

Venue: Anfield

Liverpool will be aiming to continue their recovery when they take on an Aston Villa side with defeat still fresh in the memory. Aston Villa also suffered a shock defeat in their opening game of the season and could of done with an easier fixture then a trip to Liverpool to mend broken hearts. Villa were smashed off the park in their last trip to Anfield when losing 5-0. Will it be a similar scoreline in Monday’s live encounter on ESPN or will Villa prove resilient?

Both teams have lost key players over the summer with Xabi Alonso leaving the ‘Reds’ and Gareth Barry leaving Villa. Both are very similar in how they go about their game and now both teams are missing a player that can control the play in the centre of the park. However, although Villa will miss Barry dear, they aren’t gunning for the Premiership title so the pressure of success won’t be as much as their matchday opponents. Anything but a title success for Liverpool will be frowned upon on Merseyside and the absence of Xabi Alonso was felt in Liverpool’s opening day defeat away at Tottenham. Lucas has been his replacement in the meantime with new signing Alberto Aquilani unavailable through injury but Lucas doesn’t get anywhere near the level of the Spanish maestro. The Brazilian lacks the ability to ship the ball from one side of the pitch to the other and consistently fails to find the gaps and thread the through balls to the strikers. In time, hopefully, he will add all this to his game but for now Liverpool fans are still reeling over the departure of Alonso.

After losing their opening game of the new season the pressure was firmly on manager Rafael Benitez and speculation was rife that the Spanish manager could be on his way out of the club with funds now limited. The players showed their faith in the manager by putting four past Stoke City on Wednesday in a convincing win for Liverpool but Benitez is adamant that his side still requires a few new faces, especially up front. Fernando Torres hasn’t been his glittering self recently and this is down to the fact that he has no competition whatsoever for his place. Liverpool need to bring in some forward reinforcements to not only buck his ideas up but also as cover as we all know Liverpool’s failure to win the title last season was down to the fact that Torres missed a huge part of last term through injuries.

Martin O’Neill has also struggled to find the replacements his team needs in order to fill the void left by the departure of Gareth Barry. His absence was noticeable last weekend when Villa were embarrassed on home soil by a Wigan side which crumbled under the watchful eye of their expectant home fans on Wednesday. That defeat did come as a shock and was perhaps the reality check Villa fans needed as the supporters honestly feel the club can be pushing the ‘Top Four’ close this season. That certainly won’t be the case though and although Villa do still have the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, they don’t have a big enough squad to compete throughout a full competitive season.

Aston Villa were a shambles against Wigan but the booing from the fans wasn’t deserved. After all, Villa did come close to Champions League football last season so to turn on your players so fast is appalling. If anything they’re piling more pressure on their young and somewhat frail squad in what is a team for the future. However, as far as their chances in this game goes we don’t hold out much hope for Villa. They didn’t really come close to scoring against Wigan so why they should outscore Liverpool at Anfield is anyone’s guess. The sheer pace of Liverpool’s attacks will leave Villa in serious trouble and this could very well end in another rout.

Head-to-Head: Liverpool W: 6 Aston Villa W: 0 Draws: 4

Liverpool have looked upon this fixture as a profitable one in the past, winning six of the last ten meetings between the two sides. Villa did hold Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park last season but were hammered 5-0 at Anfield. What’s more, Liverpool have won five of the previous six meetings at Anfield with three being by at least a two-goal margin. The last five encounters on Merseyside have all finished Over 2.5 Goals.

Match Verdict: Liverpool to WIN – 5/11 Coral

Match Odds:

Liverpool – 5/11 Coral

Aston Villa – 8/1 SkyBet

Draw – 7/2 SkyBet

SoccerBetting Tip: Yossi Benayoun to Score Anytime – 7/2 PaddyPower