The Stadium Of Light has indeed shelled out some ray of positivity among the Reds. Rodgers’ men find themselves in the favourable locus to go up the Premier League tables right through the second half of the League season. Liverpool bagged in a well deserved triumph against Sunderland last week and all thanks to Lazar Markovic for his wonderful 8th minute shot on goal. This victory would surely take the Reds’ confidence on a high before they gear up against Aston Villa this weekend.
The Reds currently stand in the 8th position with 32 points in their kitty. Meanwhile after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City last weekend, Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa finds itself in the 13th slot of the League Table; just three points clear of the apprehended elimination band. Aston Villa, would like to hit the right chords and churn out a thumping victory against the Reds in the relegation battle. Interestingly, Liverpool have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League fixtures at the Villa Park. Rodgers’ would surely look forward to bank upon his preceding successes against the Villans and continue to forge ahead on the winning path. Nonetheless, the boss would not be willing to take Lambert and Company nonchalantly at all.
Team News and Predicted lineup:
The Bars have been one of Rodgers’ prime concerns this season. As an injury keeps Bradley Jones away from the squad, the boss has no option other than Simon Mignolet whom he can assign the responsibility. The Belgian needs to find in a bit more stability and tenacity between the posts at the earliest. Meanwhile, Glen Johnson continues to visit the treatment chambers and is likely to remain out of action at Villa Park. With Mamadou Sakho featuring in the cards, the boss would have little to worry about. Martin Skrtel, on the other hand, has been in rather impressive form lately and remains a top drawer in the defence line-up. Emre can will slot in the right side of the back three.
After recovering from a hamstring injury, we hope to see more of ‘Stevie G’ against the Villans. The veteran, too, would be looking forward to make his presence felt at the middle of the Villa Park. Lucas Leiva continues to spark his brilliance in the field and should lineup alongside Steven Gerrard. Jordan Henderson is expected to start at the right-wing back as usual. The Serbian International, Lazar Markovic continues to be solid in the park and should find himself further high in the pitch playing as an attacking midfielder.
Rodgers’ has rebuffed his tried and tested attack line up in a few games. Strikers of the likes of Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini, have been in the boss’ blind spot quite for sometime now. Interestingly, Balotelli has scored four goals in three Premier League games against Aston Villa – twice as many goals as the Italian has struck against any other opponent. Meanwhile, the the Northern Irishman is all set to welcome back Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana when Liverpool visits Villa park. The duo along with Markovic shall possibly lead the line up for the Reds. Another piece of good news is that, striker Daniel Sturridge expected to return this month and we might see him in play soon.
As a crucial game awaits at the Villa Park this weekend, here is our list on the possible eleven whom Rodgers’ might deploy against Aston Villa:
- Goalkeeper: Simon Mignolet
- Defence: Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, Emre Can
- Midfield: Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva, Jordan Henderson, Alberto Moreno
- Attack: Raheem Sterling, Lazar Markovic, Adam Lallana
League Form: WWDWW
Possible Formation: 3-4-3
Comments are closed.