Aston Villa vs Liverpool tips and predictions: Goals galore as Villans edge towards Champions League

Aston Villa dominated possession during Thursday’s Europa League exit at the hands of Olympiakos, but they lacked energy and cutting edge.

You have to wonder how that exit will impact them. Morale could be low as they prepare to play their fourth match in 12 days.

On the other hand, there’s no greater carrot than Champions League football. One European dream is over, yet the Villans are one win away from another beginning.

We can’t underestimate what an unbelievable job Villa and Unai Emery have done this season. Victory on Monday night will mean title-chasers Liverpool have won just two more matches.

Jurgen Klopp’s departure could have been a glorious one but the hopes of a treble have been extinguished and the Reds will play for nothing more than pride from here on out.

They spent no time feeling sorry for themselves as they raced into a 4-0 lead against Tottenham last weekend, but their away form has been problematic.

Dropping points in nine of 18 away games has proved costly but more specifically, it’s their shortcomings against top-half teams. They’ve failed to win six of eight.

On the other hand, backing Villa on the back of three consecutive losses and amidst a congested fixture list isn’t an easy sale.

In the end, a draw would be a good result for Emery’s side, but we’ve reached that unpredictable stage of the season, so we’ll bet on there being goals, too.

 

Team news

Unai Emery will take stock after Thursday’s defeat in Greece and we’ll likely hear over the weekend if Villa have suffered any further casualties.

Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia, Tyrone Mings, Jacob Ramsey, Youri Tielemans, Nicolo Zaniolo, Alex Moreno and Morgan Rogers have missed out in recent games.

Liverpool will be without Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara on Monday night.

Diogo Jota recently returned to team training and stands a chance of making a return.

 

Key stats

- Aston Villa will be playing their fourth match in 12 days, losing the last three

- There have been over 2.5 goals in the last 13 matches played at Villa Park

- There have been over 3.5 goals scored in 10 of those matches

- Liverpool have failed to win six of eight away matches against top-half teams

- Liverpool are unbeaten in seven meetings since losing 7-2 at Villa Park in 2020

 

Suggested bets

Aston Villa +0.5 Asian handicap

Both teams score & over 2.5 goals

Over 3.5 goals