(H) Aston Villa - Pre Match Thoughts

Premier League

                                         Saturday 15th December 2012
                                                   Anfield

                                  Liverpool VS Aston Villa

Two former European Champions collide. That makes today's game seem far more dramatic than it is. Aston Villa's fall from grace has been more prolonged than our own but still the fact remains that both clubs are building the foundations of a new era in an attem to rectify the mistakes of the recent past. Paul Lambert was - along with Brendan Rodgers - one of the managers of the season last year and in that respect, today's clash between the two is a signal of their respective success in terms of the stature of their two employers (with all due respect to Swansea and Norwich). The difference between the two is that only one of them is having a decent run of form in the league as of late. It is the man in the home dugout.

A few weeks ago this wouldn't have seemed possible but I think of of the things we have to be weary of today is overconfidence. Three wins in a row represents a good run of form and we may be up against a side that isn't quite having the best of seasons but that doesn't mean our concentration should shift. The home wins against Southampton and Reading came after a few disappointing results and as such the entire squad was both galvanized and focused on getting what was a vital win. Just because we've managed to string a few victories together prior to today doesn't mean that this is any less vital.

Having been unavailable for the game against West Ham last week, Luis Suarez has waited a long time for this. The rest will have done him some good but I'm sure today he'll be hungry to come back and get involved in everything again today, perhaps even bag himself a few goals. This young Villa side is one that's likely to set up fairly defensively but also one that has a tendency to be fairly generous. As far as today's game goes, an early burst - whether that be from an eager Luis Suarez or the entire team as a whole - could perhaps blow them out of the water early, especially as some of them have already played in midweek. 

There can be no excuses today. We're full of confidence and - for the first time in a long time - able to call upon more or less our strongest eleven. I'm looking for the midfield to be far more authoritative than it was against West Ham, although Villa do not have anyone like Diame than can bulldoze their way through it's still important we don't give them any kind of footing. The likes of Benteke up top and Andreas Weimann are in good goalscoring form and will be as buoyant of their chances of scoring as anyone. Cut them out of the play completely and it might just be as straightforward an afternoon as everyone seems to think it will be.

Four points off fourth sounds a lot closer than it is. Simply being close isn't good enough. We have to press on and continue to grind out as many wins as possible. It was our home form - especially against those lower down in the table - that has had so many people concerned for a while. So far this season we've moved in the right direction in that respect. We can make this as difficult or as easy as we want to but the fact is that this fixture should be yielding three points for Liverpool. Anything else - in virtually any context - would be a disappointment.