Liverpool – Aston Villa

The rivals will exchange goals on Merseyside soil

This is not the first time, under Jurgen Klopp, that Liverpool have implemented a scenario in which the Reds are searching for their football for two thirds of the season, before trying to win a place in the next Champions League in the final third. In this penultimate fixture, the Merseyside club are in fifth place - a place that would have been unattainable in mid-April. They are one point behind fourth place, but Manchester United's one game behind schedule complicates matters for Liverpool. Eric ten Hague's side have games against Bournemouth, Fulham and Chelsea in their final stretch. That said, Liverpool's pattern over the last month and a half has been admirable in their willingness to tackle issues on the pitch rather than expecting gifts from their rivals. The Reds finish with matches against Aston Villa and relegated Southampton. The visitors to the upcoming game have their own motivation. Unai Emery's side defeated their direct rivals in the battle for European places last weekend, and a defeat at Anfield could negate that effort. The bookmakers have identified the home side as the favourites, with odds of 1.48 offered on their victory. Liverpool have been on a winning and losing streak for most of the league season, being mid-tier in the Premier League. After losing in the Champions League play-offs to Madrid, Klopp's side have finally pulled themselves together and started to show stability of a different kind. Having drawn with Chelsea and Arsenal in early April, Liverpool are now on a strong seven-game winning streak. In the last three meetings, the Merseysiders have even stopped conceding goals. Last Monday, the Reds hosted Leicester, scoring three unanswered goals following three assists from Salah. Aston Villa played ten Premier League games between February 25 and April 25 this year, scoring 26 points from a possible 30. If the Birmingham side had kept this pace since the start of the season, by the end of April Manchester City and Arsenal would be competing with each other for second place. The Villans have scored exactly one goal each in their last five games against Liverpool. It's a safe bet that the motivated clubs will score at least once each against each other at Anfield.