Liverpool vs Aston Villa 05/07/20

5 July 2020

The new Premier League champions, Liverpool, welcome relegation-threatened Aston Villa to Anfield, seeking a fifth consecutive win in the Premier League H2Hs.

A disastrous 4-0 away loss to Manchester City during the midweek now means that Liverpool failed to find the net in three of their last five Premier League fixtures (W2, D1, L2). However, Liverpool boast a 100% home record in the league this season (W16), with 62.5% (ten) of those triumphs producing a full-time margin of over 1.5 goals. The Reds have based their home success on a rock-solid defense that has conceded a league-low 12 goals on an average of 0.75 goals per Premier League home match. Curiously, though, the newly-found English supreme force have picked up just one triumph from their last five top-flight home H2Hs (D2, L2), conceding over 1.5 goals on three of those occasions.

Meanwhile, the visitors head to Anfield on a run of eight Premier League games without a win (D2, L6), as they enter this round one-point adrift of 17th-placed Watford. A genuine lack of defensive quality saw Aston Villa concede two goals or more five times during that eight-game sequence, which has been true in 68.75% (11) of 16 Premier League road trips this season. Far more comfortable at home, the Villans have secured only two wins on the road this term (D3, L11), as they remain one of two sides yet to reach double digits away from home. If they concede the opening goal, Dean Smith’s men are unlikely to fight their way back into the game, given that they managed just two draws from 11 league away matches in which they’ve shipped the opener (L9).