There is one final place to be won in the Champions League next season and it could be secured this weekend with a positive result for the hosts in this game.
The match between Aston Villa and Liverpool will be played on the 12th of May at Villa Park. The hosts begin this round of games in 4th place on 67 points while the visitors are in 3rd place on 78 points.
Aston Villa come into the game on the back of a disappointing 2-0 loss at Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final.
Reactions to that strike from Harvey 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wiirGAAvWO— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 8, 2024
Reactions to that strike from Harvey 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wiirGAAvWO
The Greek club opened the scoring in the 10th minute to lead 1-0 at half time. Olympiacos doubled their advantage on the night in the 78th minute and left Aston Villa with no hope of reaching the final.
The defeat at Olympiacos means Aston Villa have failed to win any of their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
There have been defeats at home against Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League and away to Brighton in the Premier League.
Aston Villa were also held to a 2-2 draw at home by Chelsea in the Premier League.
Trends show Aston Villa are undefeated in 22 of their last 26 home Premier League games.
However, they have won only 3 of their last 8 league matches on home soil and have seen both teams score in 8 of their last 10 home Premier League fixtures.
Liverpool travel to Villa Park having beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at home in the Premier League last weekend.
Having opened the scoring in the 16th minute Liverpool went in leading 2-0 at half time. Into the second half and Liverpool added goals in the 50th and 59th minutes but did concede two goals before the end of the game.
The victory over Spurs means Liverpool are undefeated in 4 of their last 5 fixtures in all competitions.
There have been wins at Fulham in the Premier League and Atalanta in the Europa League.
Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at West Ham United and suffered a costly 1-0 defeat at Everton in the Premier League.
Statistics show Liverpool have not lost in 60 of their last 67 games in all competitions.
However, they have won only 1 of their last 4 away trips in the league and have seen both teams score in 3 of their last 4 Premier League matches on the road.
Team news: Aston Villa are without the injured trio of Jacob Ramsey, Tyrone Mings, and Morgan Rogers. There are also doubts over the fitness of Nicolò Zaniolo and Youri Tielemans.
Liverpool make the trip without injured midfielder Thiago Alcantara. Diogo Jota and Ben Doak could recover in time to be involved.
Aston Villa know a win would seal their place in the Champions League. They have been good at home in the Premier League for most of the season but have been struggling to win recent matches.
Liverpool can relax knowing they have booked their place in the Champions League next season but are highly unlikely to win the league.
That makes Liverpool a dangerous opponent and we expect to see plenty of attacking play in this game. Our prediction is for this match to end level, with both teams scoring.