Liverpool eager to avoid five-game losing run as Villa clash looms.
Liverpool vs. Aston Villa begins at 20:00 [GMT] on Saturday, November 1, at Anfield.
A fascinating clash awaits at Anfield as Liverpool look to halt their alarming losing streak when they host an in-form Aston Villa side in Premier League action. The Reds, who crashed out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday after a 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace, are reeling following four consecutive league defeats [WLLLL]. Fortunately, Liverpool’s dominance at Anfield in this fixture has been well established in recent years. The Reds have won six of their last seven Premier League home meetings with Villa (D1), having gone four games without a win in this matchup before that run (D2 L2). Overall, Villa have struggled against Liverpool, managing just one win in their last 15 league meetings (D3 L11)—the memorable 7-2 thrashing at Villa Park in October 2020. Arne Slot, who is under increasing pressure, will be keen to avoid an unwanted milestone. Having lost four consecutive league games for the first time in over seven decades, Liverpool could now lose five for the first time since September 1953. They are also the first side in English top-flight history to win their opening five matches of a season and then lose the next four. In fact, only one reigning champion in the Premier League era — Leicester City in 2016-17 — has ever lost five successive matches. Tactically, Liverpool’s high defensive line has faced heavy scrutiny. Their opponents have played 571 long passes against them this season—the most faced by any Premier League team—with an extraordinary 20.5% of those opponents’ passes classified as long balls. That statistic highlights a growing vulnerability to direct play, something Unai Emery’s side could look to exploit with pace on the break. Hugo Ekitiké is expected at the attacking end of Liverpool’s 4—2—3—1 formation. Alexander Isak is in doubt for this fixture.
History also weighs against the visitors when facing reigning champions. Aston Villa have won just once in 30 Premier League away games against title holders (D5 L24), a 1-0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United in December 2009. Since then, they’ve lost all eleven such fixtures, conceding 35 goals. Villa arrive buoyed by momentum. After defeating Manchester City 1-0 in their previous outing, they could become the first team since Leicester’s 2015-16 title-winners to beat both City and Liverpool in consecutive matches. The last side to defeat City and then Liverpool in that order was Sheffield Wednesday back in 1993 — a historical footnote Villa would love to replicate. Ollie Watkins is poised to lead Villa’s 4—2—3—1 attacking setup. Harvey Elliott is unable to face his parent club.