Aston Villa vs. Liverpool: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Liverpool were extremely poor for large spells against Wolves despite getting the win, but they've been so consistent throughout the season that it's tough to doubt them too much here.

However, Villa have lost only one on home soil in the league all season, a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the beginning of the campaign, and Liverpool have drawn two of their last four, and four of their last nine, league games on the road. We do, then, fancy Villa to pick up a good point here. Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool.

Liverpool's title charge continues this weekend as they head to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa in the Premier League.

• Date: 19/02/2025
• Kick-off time: 19:30
• Location: Villa Park. Birmingham

Aston Villa currently sit 9th in the Premier League with 38 points from 25 games. It's been a solid campaign for Villa so far, although their highest highs have come in Europe, with their league form experiencing a notable dropoff from last season.

Much of Villa's domestic decline can be put down to injuries, where they are really struggling. Villa have constantly had a huge number of first-team players in the treatment room, with their defence and midfield the hardest hit areas.

Fortunately, Villa had a strong January transfer window, with the board bringing in Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea, and potentially more impactfully, Marcus Rashford from Manchester United and Marco Asensio from PSG. In particular, Rashford and Asensio have looked very promising in their early minutes for the club, leaving a strong impression on fans despite a limited sample size.

If Villa can get the likes of Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Amadou Onana back to full fitness sooner rather than later, they can still finish the season very strongly and climb the table. When fully fit, Villa's squad is exceptionally strong and brimming with quality. Whether they can keep everyone else fit is another question though, because the squad have been dropping like flies.

They come into this game as clear underdogs against a rampant Reds side, but if Villa Park can produce the kind of intimidating atmosphere we know it can, a result is not out of their grasp.

Liverpool currently sit top of the league with 60 points from 25 games. So far, it's been all Liverpool in the Premier League title race, with Arne Slot's Reds leading the way by quite a distance. With seven points separating them from an injury-riddled and inconsistent Arsenal side, the odds of a second Premier League title are heavily stacked in their favour.

The Reds will be hoping they can avoid succumbing to a second half of the season dropoff in their performance levels, something that has plagued Liverpool for many of the last few seasons. There have been one or two very small signs in recent weeks that something might be amiss with their performance levels, and while there's nothing definitive enough to be drawing radical conclusions, it's something to be wary of, particularly given their history.

Liverpool are in a strong enough position where they can afford to drop two points here and there in difficult away games, so they're unlikely to feel too much pressure on Wednesday night. They're the favourites to come out on top, but Villa will likely make it difficult.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 2.

Aston Villa Team News:

Villa come into this game without Ross Barkley, Matty Cash and Pau Torres, all of whom remain in the treatment room.

They will, though, be hoping to welcome Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana back into the matchday squad, although it could be slightly too soon for the pair.

Predicted lineup: Martínez; García, Disasi, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Asensio, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins.

Liverpool Team News:

The Reds are missing only Joe Gomes and Tyler Morton, so they're doing fairly well on the injury front.

Darwin Núñez could be handed a recall to the XI for this one, with the forward line in need of refreshing.

Predicted lineup: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Díaz; Núñez.

Aston Villa:

Aston Villa are in decent form, with two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five matches. Unai Emery's side took on Ipswich Town last weekend and despite the visitors falling down to ten men with the scoreline level at 0-0, Villa struggled to break them down, managing only a 1-1 draw thanks to an Ollie Watkins equaliser.

Before that, goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers produced a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup, which came after a 2-0 defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league.

Those results followed a 4-2 win over Celtic in the Champions League, where a Rogers hat-trick and a goal from Watkins got the job done, and a 1-1 draw with West Ham, where Ramsey scored the goal.

Liverpool:

Liverpool are strong form, with the Reds winning three, drawing one and losing one of their last five games. Last time out, Liverpool claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win over Wolves, where despite going 2-0 up through Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah, they struggled greatly in the second half and were made to sweat for the three point.

Prior to that, goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Salah saw Liverpool draw 2-2 at Everton, a result that was preceded by a 1-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle, a 4-0 win over Tottenham in the League Cup - where Cody Gakpo, Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk scored the goals - and a 2-0 win at Bournemouth, courtesy of a Salah brace.

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