Aston Villa vs. Liverpool
Venue: Villa Park
Kick off: 3:05pm
Sunday’s Premier League action is bookended by a pair of mouthwatering matches involving the top four, but in the middle there is also an intriguing game as rockbottom Aston Villa take on Liverpool.
Given Villa’s predicament you might expect Liverpool to be heavy favourites, but the Reds are enduring a tough spell at the moment and have been hard to beat at home of late.
After a club-record 19-game winless streak, Villa have won two and lost only one of their last five league games to give themselves a glimmer of hope of beating the drop and maintaining their status as one of the few clubs to never be relegated since the introduction of the Premier League.
Still, they will need a finish like Leicester City managed last season if they are to stay up, with the gap to safety eight points with only 13 games of the season to go.
Last Saturday they earned their third win of the season by overcoming fellow strugglers Norwich City 2-0 thanks to a Timm Klose own goal and Gabriel Agbonlahor’s first goal of the season.
A terrible week on the field, but a triumphant one off it for Reds supporters after their walk-out protest in the 77th minute of last Saturday’s match against Sunderland caused the club’s owners to scrap its ticket-price hike on Wednesday.
A healthy chunk of the Anfield crowd made their way out with their side leading 2-0 against the lowly Black Cats, but those that stayed saw Sunderland pull off a miraculous late fightback to earn a point.
Manager Jurgen Klopp also missed his side make it just one win in six league games as he had to have his appendix out after falling ill in the build-up to the match.
The Reds’ stuttering form means that they are 12 points behind the top four and Merseyside rivals Everton have climbed above them on goal difference.
Things got worse on Tuesday night when Liverpool travelled to West Ham United for an FA Cup fourth-round replay and lost in heartbreaking circumstances in the 120th minute just seconds before a penalty shootout would have been needed.
One positive from the midweek defeat was the return of Daniel Sturridge, who has scored four goals in three Premier League appearances for Liverpool against Aston Villa, including two composed finishes in the reverse earlier this season.
Since joining the club in January 2013, Sturridge has only played one more game (60) than he has missed (59) for Liverpool in the Premier League, but if he can stay fit for the remainder of the campaign he may compete with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy for a place in Roy Hodgson’s England attack at Euro 2016.
Villa possible starting lineup: Bunn, Richards, Okore, Lescott, Cissokho, Bacuna, Gueye, Westwood, Gil, Veretout, Agbonlahor.
Liverpool possible starting lineup: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno, Henderson, Can, Milner, Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho.