Premier League leaders Liverpool return to play on Wednesday when they travel to Aston Villa as they hope to extend their impressive lead at the top of the table. The Reds currently have a seven-point lead on second-place Arsenal, and could make it 10 with a win over Villa, with the caveat that they have played one more game than almost every other team. Villa, meanwhile, sit in eighth and could go up to seventh with a victory, which would put them just two points outside of a UEFA Europa League berth currently promised to the fifth-place team.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Feb. 19 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Villa Park — Birmingham, England
- TV: USA Network | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Aston Villa +290; Draw +290; Liverpool -115
Storylines
Things are still trending in the right direction for Liverpool in Arne Slot’s first season – they find themselves with a seven-point cushion at the top of the table, finished top of the UEFA Champions League’s first league phase and booked a spot in next month’s EFL Cup final. The impact of a long season seems to have caught up with them, though, meaning they seem a bit more vulnerable than they did in the first half of the season when wins came like clockwork.
Take Sunday’s 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers as an example. The Reds got their two goals from 10 shots in the first half but tailed off completely in the second half, taking no shots after the break while Wolves took 10 of their own in that period. This is not exactly a reason to sound the alarm – Mohamed Salah remains in sensational form with 28 goals across all competitions, essentially acting as a cheat code even on Liverpool’s worse days like Sunday. Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz have also been in strong form with 16 and 13 goals, respectively, this campaign, and could pitch in and help Salah.
Projected lineup
Alisson, Bradley, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Diaz
Prediction
Liverpool definitely are not their freshest, but they undoubtedly have enough quality to see them through this game. Expect another win for the league leaders, even if it is a somewhat dull one. Pick: Aston Villa 0, Liverpool 1
