Game Week 11 Predictions: Liverpool to beat Aston Villa

Liverpool hosts Aston Villa at Anfield in a high-stakes match, with Villa aiming for a top-four spot and Liverpool defending their league lead.

Liverpool's form will be tested against Aston Villa but can the visitors stop the Kops? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Liverpool vs. Aston Villa

Anfield

9:00pm

On Saturday, both Liverpool, the current leaders in the league, and Aston Villa, the pretenders, will compete in a late-night match at Anfield.

By the time this fixture kicks off, the leaders could find themselves in second spot, as Manchester City would have played against Brighton at the Amex, and a win for Pep Guardiola’s side would take them to the top of the log, albeit temporarily.

Liverpool continues to impress this season, leading the Premier League and the Champions League tables; they have done this by sticking to the core of the Jurgen Klopp era and look set to do it again when Villa comes to town.

Aston Villa has suffered a dip in form. Despite losing at Club Brugge in midweek, Unai Emery's team lost their European invincibility and slowed down in the Champions League, but they remain in a strong position for automatic qualification.

On the league front, Villa lost badly at Spurs last weekend despite taking the lead in the first half. Tottenham hammered Villa with four goals in the second half, and you wonder where their defensive strength went.

Tyron Mings is back fully, but he was guilty of a sensational error that handed the Belgians full points in midweek; Emiliano Martinez passed the ball to Mings from a restart following a goal kick only for the England defender to handle the ball, an incident Emery described as the worst he has ever seen.

Alisson is still out and not expected until after the next international break, so Caohmin Kellerher is expected to continue in goal for the hosts, while Diogo Jota will also not return until late November, with Federico Chiesa the only player with a huge question mark on his return date.

Unai Emery will have to cope without Ross Barkley until late November, while Matty Cash's calf problem prevents him from being available. Uncertainty surrounds whether Unai Emery will give Mings another chance at the heart of the defence, leading experts to tip Ezri Konsa to take the right back position.

A victory for Villa would propel them directly into the top four, providing them with significant incentive and motivation. However, their recent performance has been lacking. To compete for the top four, they must overcome a team that has only suffered one loss this season.

Verdict: Liverpool is to win.