Pre-Match: Aston Villa v Liverpool

Tuesday 29 December 19:45

Only 2 days from now!  And i'm looking forward to this one!!
Actually i just watched the Arsenal - Aston Villa game.  Happy to see Villa lose, happier to see them lose 3-0!!! On the one hand, it may encourage them to come fighting in the next game.. but on the other, it demonstrates a weakness, and i hope may also cause a loss of confidence somewhere in the team.  Our defence has not been great - to put it lightly.  But Villa'sdefence in the second half especially really showed some holes.  IF Torres and Gerrard play at their usual standards, that defence can be exploited.

Aquilani should play.  I'd like to see Kuyt, but also Benny..

It will be a tought game, and I can see rafa putting out a defensive lineup.  But i hope he watches today's game - and i hope it gives him confidence like it has me.  I'm sure he can find the holes in the preparation and key in th players to exploit them! 

A win against Villa! A win against Spurs! and we are back in the game!!!! - (for 4th place  )

That would really turn things around for us.  Come on the reds!  I'll leave the expert opinions and formation predictions to you guys!

Really ready for this!!!!

 

Im looking forward to this ,it should be a good game.Hopefully we get revenge on them  .Ashley Young misses the game as he got his 5th yellow card earlier against Arsenal so that's a boost for us.

REVENGE!

Massively important game.

A win would be such a great boost.

Hopefully Villa's confidence will have been knocked today and the absence of Young will lessen their threat.

Come on you Reds!

Ashley Young misses the game as he got his 5th yellow card earlier against Arsenal so that's a boost for us.

Really good news to hear! this guy is a real danger..
Anyway I just hope we can avenge for the loss at anfield and get back with 3 points from Villa Park. Who knows? with good mentality, a decent performance and a bit of luck we can turn the table on our rivals very soon
 

What do we reckon about Aquilani?

Another start?

We will F***ing batter them, revenge is a dish best served cold! C'mon lets start moving up the table!!!

yes now we have won should lift our spirits a bit there defence is suspect keep on attacking take the game to them. just wonder if benny is okay he was limping. play 4-4-2 torres iis getting brutalized to much

RAFA,just send them lads out onto Villa Park with the instructions to play the game of their lives and come away with the three points.

A bit worried and shaken actually...
Villa is a tough nut to crack.

I don't think we have fully recovered from our shocking loss to them early in the season yet.
We looked really comfortable with possession and creating chances until they scored a couple goals and I still don't know why we lost.

Definitely need the 3 points though, particularly because they're above us now.

This could make it 2 on the bounce and the start of 20 match winning streak ..lmao ......(Think we have been through this )

Villa is a tough nut to crack.

Hope that Gerrard and Nando will score. Would like Reina getting an assist, too.

Going to sell all my squad in the Premieship Fantasy league and buy some Villa players, because if I buy someone, that player starts to perform badly. I made Nando my caiptain and he stopped scoring. I sold Defoe and he grabbed 5 goals in 1 game.

We are 12 points behind Chelski with 19 games remaining. We can still win the League!

What do we reckon about Aquilani?

Another start?

I hope so Ross, showed a lot of potential against Wolves, nice passes to foot, and needs to get used to the pace of the premier.

We can win this one the stuffing has been knocked out of villa after they're 3-0 defeat to arsenal and momentum is back with us after our win over wolves.

Well up for this one myself.

6.45am kick off down here and I've got the day off. 

Hopefully we can come away with the 3 points, don't care what the score is as long as we're on the winning end.

I think this is the game Nando is gonna get his act together. If he stops moaning and carrying on, I'm sure this is the game he'll be back to his brutal best, just got to be tight at the back and get it forward to him quickly. We can do these. Come on you Redmen.

That 3-1 they got earlier this season was a complete shaft of a result.

The most undeserved defeat seen us suffer in a long while.  Having watched their performance in that game (putting the result aside) I am completely astounded they are were they are in the league.

Obviously going away the way we are playing I wouldn't bank on anything, but the reds REALLY need to make sure they do these over because there is no way they deserve to take 6 points off us.

A victory against Villa will be a major boost to the team. Let's Kop it!

Come on Reds! Let's make it 2 wins in 2!

Interesting little stat, the defeat to Villa earlier in the season set us on our way of four straight Premiership wins (Bolton, Burnley, West Ham and Hull) and since then we haven't had back-to-back Premiership wins. That's some time to go without consecutive wins in the League for this club.

Anyway back to the game, I haven't really posted in the pre-match threads much because it's all the same. "Hope for a win" "must win game" and all the rest of it. But something is telling me to post in this one. And obviously this is a must win game and one I desperately hope we win but with the position we're in, it could actually give us more than just a mere three points.

It could give everybody a lift going into the New Year as well as closing the gap on the top four. It's a shame that we're sat here at the end of December more worried about finishing in the top four than when will we be crowned champions but that's the way this season has gone. With the transfer window opening and the likelihood of us buying being almost zilch, it's important we don't get cut too far adrift from the top four because those aiming to break into the coverted Champions League places can, and probably will, spend during the transfer window.

That's why this game with Villa is even more important than it could of been because we don't wanna be eight points behind while they're strengthening in January. Obviously it isn't ideal to be two points behind either but it's much more manageable.

At this moment, the performances aren't important as long as we get the results. Any win will be welcomed by the Kopites around the globe with open arms not only because it's been a while since we won away from home in the League but because it's three points for the Reds. And that is always welcomed.

After a (calendar) year that promised so much, it would be fantastic to go out on a high. Lets start getting the results we deserve and show the rest of the League that Liverpool Football Club have not fallen. We've simply stumbled but are back on our feet now and will storm up the table. With any luck we have finally rekindled the passion and fight that we've lacked for most of the season and Villa won't be able to cope with us.

It's the sort of game where Villa would be delighted with a point so I wouldn't be too surprised to see them constantly try and get eight or nine behind the ball. Then just lump it up to Carew/Heskey to flick it on for Agbonlahor's pace. As for our team, I don't expect too many chances from the side that beat Wolves. Possibly Kuyt back in for Aurelio or Benayoun but knowing Rafa it'll be Kuyt for Insua. Insua was quality against Wolves so it's probably him who'll be dropped with Aurelio dropping back to left back and Yossi back on the left.

Not fussed on what the scoreline will be as long as it's three points for the Reds come the final whistle.

Lets end the year on a F***ing high lads and go into 2010 brimming with confidence while the rest of the League is shaking with fear at the thought of us just finding form.

Good post DLS, don't think anyone needs to post anything until tomorrow night now as you've summed it all up quite well.

I don't think the Wolves result will have done much for confidence, with the exception perhaps of Gerrard, but the Villa match could be crucial.

We've got a point to prove to these kind of clubs, the ones who think they can take our spot, and if we beat them it could prove to our players and fans alike that we may have had a poor start to the season, but we are still one of the best clubs around, not just in England but in the world.

It's time to start taking back what's ours, the points, the position in the table, and start F***ing getting a bit of respect back from all the doubters.

last game on 2009.. hope it will be sweet to see liverpool get rid off AV.. everyone know this isn't easy mission to get rid villa on their home but this is not mission impossible too..

with gerrard score last match i think it will boost his confidence and i hope this would be advantages for us.. just full concentrate on 90 minutes.. beware of the set piece and watch out for the winger attack.. and i hope possesion ball we'll be ours..

I just want the boys to knock o'neill's bloody block off..

i just hate the douchebag.

It'll be a tough match. We do have to win this one, because firstly, if we lose, we'll have to rebuild again. We have won against the likes of manure and everton, but the games after that, we have either lost or drawn. So we haven't been able to build from our wins, and the same should not happen after the win against wolves. Our confidence is quite low because even if we win a game, we screw up the next one. Winning two in a row now would do a lot of good to our confidence.

Secondly, knocking off  3 points from a team above us in the table, who themselves have a top 4 ambition would do loads of good to our position in the table.

Thirdly, our loss against them in August, though maybe undeserved, was quite frankly embarrassing. Time for some revenge!

GO REDS!!