The fact that Liverpool reached the final of the English League Cup led to a change in the match schedule at Villa Park, which was supposed to take place on March 15. A solution was found, though it is now set for an evening when the Champions League is also scheduled.Liverpool, with a seven-point lead over Arsenal, has a chance to extend their advantage to double digits, but that won’t be easy, as the hosts have their own motivations.⚪️ MATCHDAY ⚪️We travel to Aston Villa in the @premierleague 👊#WalkOn | #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/q7wWMcHGbQ— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 19, 2025 Aston Villa, currently in ninth place, is just five points behind the Europa League spot and six behind fourth place, which guarantees a Champions League spot. This is why Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, has instructed his players to attack Liverpool “with full force.””I have to be demanding of myself, to use and choose players for each match so that our structure is always strong, but also to protect some players from fatigue and injury risk. We will keep all of that in mind, but I hope we can play with a full tank and at 100% strength. Liverpool played on Sunday and has been playing a lot of matches for a while. Our next step is to play many matches in a row, so we have to be smart and choose the right moments for our players, and for those coming off the bench. There will always be someone to help when coming into the game. So let’s take the three points, and we’ll see what happens next,” Emery confidently stated.”They are the best team in the Premier League, they are the best team in Europe” 💬Unai Emery discusses facing Liverpool tomorrow 💭 pic.twitter.com/q83j063xwl— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 18, 2025 Aston Villa will soon continue their Champions League competition, and they have several injured players. Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash, Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana, Leon Bailey, and Boubacar Kamara are all dealing with injuries. Emery mentioned that Kamara and Bailey are close to returning, as well as Cash and Konsa, and that he will decide what’s best by match day.Liverpool remains unbeaten in away Premier League matches this season, and Villa’s coach knows the challenge his team faces.”This is the toughest match we will play in the coming period of the season. We are excited about it, Liverpool is the best team in the Premier League and Europe,” emphasized Spanish manager.##NAJAVA_MECA_8720238##I came to play CL! No you won‘t…Arne Slot will be missing three players due to injuries: Cody Gakpo, Tyler Morton, and Joe Gomez. Curtis Jones returns after serving his suspension. Also, Arne Slot, who was sent off in the derby against Everton, will be on the bench. The Premier League has not yet made an official decision about whether he will be punished. Until everything is final, the Dutchman continues his work normally.Regarding the title race, Slot says it is impossible for his team to always play at the same level.Arne Slot on facing Aston Villa : “Villa away, when you get the fixture list, you all know it’s one of the tougher ones you can get.””Wolves at home was tough for us – every game for every team at this period is hard.” pic.twitter.com/ijrkyGirZt— Kop 360° (@LIVFCYNWA2005) February 18, 2025 “I have experience from Feyenoord, when we won the title. You can’t expect to play fantastic football every time. If you are a special team, you will have 20 to 25 very good games, a few average ones, and a few bad ones. With these average games, it’s important to get results because you will almost always win in the good ones. It is impossible to play the best football for 38 matches. This wasn’t the case in Liverpool’s history, nor in City’s four consecutive titles, and it won’t be the case now with us, Arsenal, City, or Chelsea,” concluded Liverpool’s head coach.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 29Wednesday 22.30: (4.00) Aston Villa (3.85) Liverpool (1.95)Friday 23.00: (3.40) Leicester (3.50) Brentford (2.10)Saturday 15.30: (2.60) Everton (3.15) Man.Utd. (2.85)18.00: (1.30) Arsenal (5.20) West Ham (11.0)18.00: (1.65) Bournemouth (3.80) Wolverhampton (5.40)18.00: (2.15) Fulham (3.40) Crystal Palace (3.40)18.00: (3.50) Ipswich (3.50) Tottenham (2.05)18.00: (5.50) Southampton (3.90) Brighton (1.63)20.30: (2.75) Aston Villa (3.45) Chelsea (2.50)Sunday 17.00: (1.85) Newcastle (3.60) Nott.Forest (4.30)***odds are subject to change***
