Virgil van Dijk returns to the Liverpool starting XI for the Boxing Day clash against Aston Villa with both teams resuming their top flight campaign.
The Dutch centre-back had sat out Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on Thursday night in the EFL Cup fourth round meeting at the Etihad.
Full-strength backline for the visitors Liverpool
Joining Van Dijk in the heart of the defense is Joel Matip with Joe Gomez dropping down to the bench to make way for the former’s inclusion in the XI.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the other returning player in the Liverpool side with the England international replacing James Milner in the right-back position.
Chamberlain handed a start with Firmino out injured
Liverpool’s midfield has the skipper Jordan Henderson joining Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara with the young Harvey Elliott starting the game on the bench.
In the final third of the pitch, Darwin Nunez will be operating in the central striking role while Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain feature out on the flanks.
Here is how both teams line up for today’s Premier League fixture:
Aston Villa XI
This is your Aston Villa team to face Liverpool. 👊#AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/COjIIXG8RQ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 26, 2022
Liverpool XI
🟢 #AVLLIV TEAM NEWS 🟢
Here’s how we line-up to face Aston Villa this evening 👊
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2022
