PREMIER LEAGUE leaders Liverpool travel to Aston Villa for Wednesday’s top-flight showdown.

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Aston Villa vs Liverpool preview

Liverpool make the 78-mile trip to Villa Park for their third match in just eight days as they take on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

The Reds have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to ten points with only 12 games remaining.

With a challenging run of fixtures ahead, securing maximum points against Villa would be a huge boost.

Arne Slot’s side are set to face a resurgent Manchester City, Newcastle, Merseyside rivals Everton, and Fulham in their next six league outings, alongside a trip to Wembley for the Carabao Cup final.

Despite being the most in-form side in the league, even the most devoted Liverpool supporters would admit the team hasn’t been at their best in recent weeks.

Following their shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Plymouth and a 2-2 draw in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, the Reds scraped past struggling Wolves with a 2-1 win — thanks to Mohamed Salah’s first-half penalty.

Remarkably, it was the first time on record (since 2003-04) that Liverpool failed to attempt a shot in the second half of a Premier League game at Anfield. In fact, it was the first time in this period that the Reds went an entire half of football without attempting a shot in a home league match.

To make matters worse, they have not kept a clean sheet at home since 1st December.

However, on the road, Liverpool remain unbeaten in the league this season, winning eight and drawing five of their 13 away fixtures. Meanwhile, Unai Emery has only beaten Liverpool once in 12 meetings across all competitions.

Villa will be desperate to improve that record, but Saturday’s 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened Ipswich Town — who played with ten men for over 50 minutes — was hardly the ideal warm-up.

Emery’s side are now winless in four Premier League matches (D3, L1) and have slipped to ninth in the table, six points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

Adding to their concerns, they have lost six of their last seven league games against teams starting the day top of the table.

On the flip side, Villa boast the joint-fourth best home record in the division and are unbeaten in their last 12 league matches at Villa Park — something they’ll be eager to preserve against the league leaders.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool preview betting odds

• Aston Villa 29/10 with William Hill – CLAIM HERE

• Draw 3/1 with Betfred – CLAIM HERE

• Liverpool 5/6 with BetMGM – CLAIM HERE

Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool preview betting tips and predictions

Goals

There’s rarely a dull fixture between these two sides, especially at Villa Park. The last seven Premier League meetings between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park have produced a total of 33 goals, an average of 4.7 per game.

Liverpool have scored at least twice in all seven of these games (20 goals in total). This exact fixture finished 3-3 last season, and we can see another flurry of goals – especially with the visitors having conceded 26 shots on goal in their last two league matches.

• Over 3.5 Goals at 13/10 with William Hill – CLAIM HERE

Mo involvement

It’s not the flashiest of predictions, but Mohamed Salah looks a solid shout to provide an assist at 2/1 with William Hill in a match where we expect a flurry of goals.

With 14 goals and nine assists in Liverpool’s 13 away games in the Premier League this season, Mohamed Salah has the most ever goal involvements by a player away from home in a single campaign in the competition (23).

He is one assist away from becoming only the third player to assist 10+ goals in away games in a Premier League season. He’s provided four assists in 12 games against Villa in his career, and he’s created 34 chances for his colleagues away from home this season — 10 more than the next Liverpool player.

• Mohamed Salah to provide an assist at 2/1 with William Hill – CLAIM HERE

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