With Villa hosting Liverpool this Friday night at Villa Park, it’s hard not to remember the last time these two met there in the Premier League – back on October 4, 2020, when Villa absolutely hammered them 7-2.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a hat-trick, Jack Grealish was on another level, and poor Adrián in the Liverpool goal had a nightmare that basically handed Villa the game. Liverpool had just come off winning the title the season before and this was their first defeat of the new campaign, in just their fourth match. The whole thing was played behind closed doors because of COVID.
Villa fans still talk about that result with a massive grin, obviously. But will they be smiling again after Friday, or can Liverpool turn the tables and dish out some payback?
That game was one of the first big warning signs of the defensive mess Liverpool would deal with throughout 2020-21. With Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all sidelined at various points, they were throwing together makeshift backlines and it showed. Fabinho had to drop into defence sometimes, but they never looked properly settled.
Villa, on the other hand, were spot on with their game plan – great movement, quick transitions, and they caught Liverpool on a really off day. Jürgen Klopp later admitted they did “all the things you should not do.” Alisson was injured, so Adrián started and gifted the first goal with a dodgy pass straight to Grealish, who set up Watkins. From there it snowballed. Sadio Mané was missing with COVID too, and the team just never clicked. Joe Gomez had a tough night at centre-back.
This season, both sides are sitting on 59 points – Liverpool in 4th, Villa in 5th. Liverpool have scored more (60 to Villa’s 50) but their goal difference is better too (+12 vs +4). With just two games left, it’s a proper scrap for those Champions League places.
Liverpool won the reverse fixture 2-0 at Anfield back in November, so Villa will be desperate to get revenge and maybe recreate some of that 2020 magic on home soil. Villa have been competitive all season, especially at home, while Liverpool tend to boss games with more possession and shots – though both teams have been a bit up and down lately.
INJURIES
For Liverpool: Mo Salah and Alisson are both pushing to be fit but remain big doubts with hamstring issues. Konaté should be okay after a cramp problem. Long-term, they’re still missing Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley.
For Villa: Boubacar Kamara is out for the season (knee). Amadou Onana is a doubt with a calf issue, but John McGinn is expected to be available or very close.
Since Liverpool’s 7-2 defeat in 2020, dozens of players have joined and left both Liverpool and Aston Villa. So many things have changed, and we just have to wait for Friday night to see what happens — but anything can happen.
