Aston Villa got a flying start of the season winning against Arsenal while Liverpool had their struggle but managed to win against Stoke. Saturday, the two teams meet in the second round of the Premier League.


Premier League - Round 2
Villa Park
24-08-2013 @17.30 UK

How is the two teams form?

After Aston Villa's win against Arsenal, the Birmingham club is unbeaten in their last 5 played matches, including a 3-2 win again Malaga. The highly rated striker, Christian Benteke was on fire against Arsenal, scoring 2 of the three goals. Liverpool took a 1-0 victory, on a goal by Sturridge, at home against Stoke last week and has only lost one of their last 5 matches. The last ten matches between the two sides have ended in 3 victories for Aston Villa, 2 draws and 5 wins for Liverpool.

What are the probable starting lineup?

Aston Villa are playing against Chelsea midweek, and Nathan Baker is rated doubtful for the meeting with the Londoners. There is reason to doubt he will be ready for the Liverpool match by the end of the week, why Okore may get his debut in the Premier League. In Liverpool,  Martin Skrtel is doubtful while Luis Suarez is out with a ban.

Guzan

Lowton - Okore - Vlaar - Luna

Westwood - El Ahmadi - Delph

Weimann - Benteke - Agbonlahor
_____________________________________

Sturridge

Aspas

Coutinho - Lucas - Gerrard - Henderson

Enrique - Touré - Agger - Johnson

Mignolet

What to expect from this match?

As mentioned earlier in this article, Aston Villa had a great start to this years Premier League, outplaying Arsenal at Emirates. Meanwhile, Liverpool was the best team on the day but had their struggle with Stoke City. On paper, Liverpool have the best team, but Aston Villa can cause problems for the Merseyside club, and I don't expect Aston Villa to just set back and wait for Liverpool to roll them over.

Liverpool managed to keep the pressure on Stoke in the last round, and Aston Villa will be under the same kind of pressure on Saturday. That said, Villa's counter attacks can cause server damage to Liverpool's defends. I expect to see two attacking teams, with two midfields battling for each inch of the pitch. Liverpool will probably win the battle and go back to Liverpool with 3 points in the back.

What are the odds?

According to oddschecker.com, BetVictor has the best odds on an Aston Villa victory with a 17/5. If you are more into Liverpool, Skybet offers a 20/21 while a draw gives 13/5 at Bet365.