Aston Villa vs Liverpool 05/10/20

5 October 2020

Rocked by the Carabao Cup elimination to Arsenal at the midweek, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back in the Premier League when they meet Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Aston Villa could not have hoped for a better Premier League start, picking up two wins from as many games without conceding a single goal. The ‘clean-sheet’ theme was equally significant for Aston Villa last season, as five of their seven home league wins were ‘to nil’ back in 2019/20. Particularly dangerous in attack in the initial phase of the game, the hosts have gobbled three of their four league goals scored so far before the 50-minute mark, with two coming inside the opening 15 minutes of play. But, a lack of goals is what has been tormenting the ‘Lions’ this calendar year, as they’ve netted under 1.5 goals in seven of ten Premier League home outings since the turn of 2020.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking to maintain their 100% start to the Premier League season (W3), as they take on a side they’ve beaten in all of their previous five top-flight H2Hs. Curiously, each win saw the ‘Reds’ score over 1.5 goals, which has been true in their opening three league fixtures. Additionally, a 2-0 away win over Chelsea on Matchday 2 is very much in line with Liverpool’s tendency to take control of the game, as they also opened the scoring in 68.42% (13) of their away league matches back last season. The one thing that could trouble Jurgen Klopp ahead of the kick-off is that his men have won just half (three) of their six Premier League trips post lockdown (W3, D1, L2).