Soccer tips: Liverpool vs Aston Villa - Reds can ruin Steven Gerrard’s return home
- Dave Tindall
- 11 December 2021
The Anfield legend has made an excellent start as the new boss of Aston Villa, but halting Jurgen Klopp’s title contenders on Saturday may be too big a task.
With Chelsea stuttering, Liverpool are now clear second favourites in the title race behind new leaders Manchester City.
The Reds have won their last six games in all competitions following the 3-2 reversal at West Ham, but that record could be challenged by another team in claret and blue on Saturday.
Aston Villa are the next visitors to Anfield and, of course, there's a huge sub-plot with Liverpool legend and now Villa boss Steven Gerrard returning to the scene of so many golden moments.
Many see Gerrard as the next LFC manager when Jurgen Klopp decides he's had enough. With that in mind, this will be a fascinating mix of past, present and maybe future when the two Liverpool icons go head-to-head.
When: Saturday, December 11, 15.00 GMT
Where: Anfield
Best bets for Liverpool vs Aston Villa
The Reds won the Anfield return 2-1 and in Klopp's only other home game against the Villans, Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners.
However, let's jump forward to the here and now and it's pretty obvious that Gerrard has made an excellent start since taking over from Dean Smith.
Villa have won three out of four and their only loss came against Manchester City. Even then they were competitive, pegging City back to 2-1 and forcing Pep Guardiola to blow his cheeks out in relief at the final whistle.
Their only away game in Gerrard's four-game tenure so far resulted in a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace thanks to goals from Matt Targett and John McGinn.
Last three meetings
Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa (April 10, 2021)
A seventh straight loss beckoned when Ollie Watkins put Villa in front just two minutes before the break, but Liverpool finally found some answers in the second half.
Mo Salah's header made it all square after 57 minutes - the Reds' first goal in open play at Anfield in over 12 hours - and Trent Alexander-Arnold curled in a superb winner a minute into added time. Not that there were any fans in the stadium to see it.
Aston Villa 1-4 Liverpool (January 08, 2021)
One of them, 17-year-old Louie Barry, even managed to wipe out Sadio Mane's early goal to send the two sides into the break at 1-1. Liverpool finally got going and settled the tie with three goals in five second-half minutes from Gini Wijnaldum, Mane and Salah.
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool (October 04, 2020)
Ollie Watkins smashed in a first-half hat-trick, Jack Grealish netted a double after the break while further goals from John McGinn and Ross Barkley completed one of the most astonishing results in history.
Past 10 meetings
Reds should be too strong
Add in their impressive finish to last season and Liverpool have won 18, drawn six and lost just one of their last 25 Premier League games.
Logic says not, so on the vast majority of recent evidence, Villa may have to score at least twice to have a realistic chance of grabbing a point, something which Brighton managed to be fair.
The hosts are just 2/9 to take victory but Liverpool to win and both teams to score inflates that to a much more palatable 7/5. Take it.
Goalscorer bets for Liverpool vs Aston Villa
Diogo Jota was guilty of one of the misses of the season at his former club Wolves last weekend.
That howler against Wolves when he blasted the ball straight at Connor Coady - one of two Wolves defenders on the goal-line - rather than slotting it either side is very much the exception to the rule though.
The Portuguese frontman has been a huge success since switching to the red of Liverpool and he's the third top scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals. Yep, that's two more than his celebrated compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.
At Anfield, Jota has scored the opener against Burnley, Atletico Madrid and Southampton so I'm going to back him at 15/4 to bag the game's first goal.
