Unai Emery will be looking to end his club’s poor record against Liverpool as Aston Villa prepare to welcome the Reds on Boxing Day.
The Spanish manager arrived to take over from Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the Villa dugout and went on to win both his side’s Premier League matches before the World Cup break.
The change in managers helped Villa move up to 12th and clear of the relegation scrap. Liverpool will start this match full of confidence with both great history against the Villians and on Boxing Day.
The Reds have scored 13 goals in their last three Boxing Day fixtures and have kept five consecutive clean sheets in games played on December 26.
Their last Boxing Day fixture was in 2019, when Jürgen Klopp’s side returned from winning the FIFA Club World Cup and beat Leicester City 4-0 away from home.
Each of Aston Villa’s last four meetings with Liverpool has ended in defeat for the home side, who still have that barnstorming 7-2 win from October 2020 to boast about, but the Reds have otherwise won a club-record 15 Premier League matches at Villa Park.
World Cup winner Emi Martinez will not be in goals for Villa which leaves Robin Olsen to stand in. That could be music to the ears of Mo Salah, who loves this fixture.
Salah has scored five goals in his last five matches versus Villa in all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp will be relieved that the Egyptian is healthy as his injury concerns mount. James Milner (hamstring) and Roberto Firmino (calf) will miss the next couple of matches. They joined Curtis Jones, Arthur, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota on the treatment table.
Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold should be fine after an illness.
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