Liverpool have fallen three points behind Manchester City after their draw vs Spurs but they cannot afford to lose focus when they face Aston Villa next week.
That 1-1 draw has been a huge blow for Liverpool’s quadruple hopes but they still have the chance to finish the season with a treble – minus the Premier League title. Technically, the Anfield outfit can still overtake the league leaders but we don’t see Man City dropping three points in their next three matches.
Liverpool take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final next weekend so many managers would have refused to chase a lost cause but Jurgen Klopp is not such a manager so he will name his strongest starting XI at Villa Park on Tuesday night.
Liverpool are undefeated in their previous 16 Premier League matches but Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa are in some pretty good form because they are undefeated in their previous three matches.
Liverpool team news vs Aston Villa:
Ibrahima Konate paired up with Van Dijk for the Spurs game but the former will make way for Joel Matip at Villa Park. Klopp surprisingly chose to take off Andy Robertson during the final 30 minutes of the Spurs game and initially, everyone thought this was due to an injury.
Luis Díaz has now been directly involved in 30 goals for Porto and Liverpool this season:
▪️ 50 games
▪️ 22 goals
▪️ 8 assistsWhat a player. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/dzX0EyVGwg
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) May 7, 2022
Thankfully, Konstantinos Tsimikas’s arrival was just a tactical substitution and Robertson will be fit to play on Tuesday night.
Henderson started against Spurs but the club captain could be preserved for the FA Cup final which means Naby Keita will start alongside Thiago and Fabinho.
Luis Diaz’s dream run for Liverpool continues as he scored yet again on Saturday and the January signing is a guaranteed starter vs Villa as well.
Roberto Firmino has also returned to training and will be in line to make a comeback in this match but the Brazilian is not going to get a place in the first XI even if he is 100% fit.
Man City—86 points
Liverpool—83 pointsThree points clear with three games to go 👌 pic.twitter.com/vTDqRJOG3e
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 8, 2022
The manager had updated last Friday: “I don’t know about Bobby, but he is back in training, so we have to make a decision. He hasn’t done a lot. It might be possible but it might make more sense to train through the weekend.”
Jota has fallen down the pecking order slightly after Diaz’s arrival so he will start on the bench at Villa Park and will only come on as a substitute.
Liverpool predicted line up vs Aston Villa:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Alisson; Van Dijk, Joel Matip, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold; Thiago, Fabinho, Naby Keita; Luis Diaz, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane.
