An uninspiring Liverpool FC side visits Villa Park on Friday night to take part in the third round of the FA Cup fixture list, facing a stern challenge from Dean Smith’s Villians.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have lost their steam on the pitch in recent weeks and a three-game winless streak across league action is sure to come as a massive blow to the Merseysiders’ chances of retaining their top-flight crown, chances which were looking far from weary till the backend of last year.
The Reds began the new year in the worst possible fashion, a trip to St. Mary’s earlier this week resulting in a 1-0 loss for the Anfield outfit as a goal from an ex-Red Danny Ings gave Southampton all three points from the Premier League showdown between the two sides.
Let's keep going, Reds 👊 pic.twitter.com/O69cnNohk4
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 5, 2021
Inconsistency in the form of key players, coupled with the ever-increasing list of injured first-team regulars has been witnessed to be the major reason behind the downward trajectory of form showcased by Klopp’s side of late, with the gaffer insisting that his players were keen to put their shallow displays behind them in the forthcoming set of fixtures.
Success in the FA Cup has always seemed to have eluded Klopp since his appointment to the managerial hot seat at Anfield and the German will surely be hoping for his team’s revitalisation in domestic cup ties when they face Aston Villa on Friday.
Liverpool FC’s previous visit to Villa Park to square up against the Midlanders resulted in the now infamous 7-2 drubbing, a game in which Jurgen Klopp’s men were outclassed by their opponents in every aspect, even with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez being present in the Merseysiders backline for that mid-October clash.
With no Van Dijk-Gomez duo to account for the forthcoming fixture owing to season-ending injury layoffs for the first-choice centre half pairing, Klopp’s concerns with his defensive depth in the first-team ranks at Anfield is bound to increase despite the onset of the January transfer window.
Villa’s previous outing turned to be a hard-fought 2-1 loss for Dean Smith’s men against Manchester United last week, which propelled the Red Devils to move level on points with Liverpool FC in the Premier League standings.
Going into Friday’s meeting against Smith’s men at Villa Park, a continuous blip in form away from home is an alarming stat for the Merseyside Reds, just one win in as many as seven matches on the road is clearly a record Klopp and Co. would be gunning to change for the best, with a spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup up for grabs.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Date – 6 January Thursday
Time – 8:45 PM BST
Venue – Villa Park
TEAM NEWS
The loss to Southampton witnessed the return of both Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the starting eleven for the Reds, with the former making his first start for his new side in nearly three months.
Either of the two returnees are tipped to retain their spot in the XI for Friday’s game as Klopp is expected to hand out valuable first-team involvement to fringe first-teamers in his squad.
Xherdan Shaqiri is one of the marginalised figures at Anfield who is believed to be in the mix to start the Villa clash, with rumours of the Swiss international exiting Anfield this January dying down in recent weeks.
Some much-needed rest would be certainly awarded to key regulars of Klopp’s side for the cup tie as the crunch league fixture against Manchester United on 17th January beckons for the Merseysiders.
RECENT FORM
Aston Villa form: W-D-W-W-D-L
Liverpool form: D-W-W-D-D-L
MATCH PREDICTION
Liverpool FC’s form has taken a turn for the worse of late, meaning a very close game could be on the cards for Friday night at Villa Park. Heavily tinkered lineups would be on display and we predict Klopp’s side to finally return to winning ways with a narrow 2-1 win over their top-flight opponents.
