An out-of-sorts Liverpool entertain an in-form Aston Villa with the two clubs only separated by goal difference in the Premier League table. BBC Sport explores some of the key themes ahead of Saturday night’s clash at Anfield.
Liverpool’s unprecedented loss of form
The defending champions’ drop-off in league form is unprecedented, with the Reds the first team in English top-flight history to win their opening five matches and lose their next four.
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Arne Slot’s side suffered only four Premier League defeats in the entirety of last season and two of those came after they had already clinched the title.
This weekend they could lose five league matches in a row for the first time since September 1953.
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A midweek League Cup loss to Crystal Palace lowered the tone at Anfield even further, although Slot decided to name eight teenagers in his matchday squad and rest the majority of his preferred Premier League team.
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Strangely, the visit of Aston Villa might be the necessary tonic for Slot’s ailing side. Liverpool have won six of their last seven league clashes with Villa at Anfield, drawing the other. They’ve also lost just once to the Midlands side in 15 Premier League meetings, drawing three and winning 11.
Villa’s red-hot form
Aston Villa are one of just two Premier League teams on a current run of four consecutive victories in the competition, along with league leaders Arsenal.
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The upturn in Villa’s form is a complete contrast to their opponents and if Unai Emery’s side take all three points then they would become just the second side in top-flight history to fail to win any of their first five games and then triumph in the next five in a row, following Preston North End in 1936.
A key protagonist in Villa’s mini mid-season revival has been right-back Matty Cash and the 28-year old has signed a new contract at the club until 2029.
The Polish international scored the only goal of the game against Manchester City last Sunday and is one of only four players to score twice from outside the box in the Premier League this season, along with Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, Brighton striker Danny Welbeck and Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo.
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“To be honest, I’ve always had a good shot, I’ve just never really shown it in games,” Cash said last weekend. “This season it seems to be going my way and every time I get the ball on the edge of the box, I’ve got confidence and feel like I’m going to hit the target a lot of the time.”
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However, history is against the visitors this weekend. Not only is their recent record against Liverpool abysmal, but the Villans have also lost their past 11 games against the defending Premier League champions, conceding 35 times in the process.
