Liverpool vs Aston Villa LIVE!
Liverpool opened a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as breakaway goals by Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah sealed a 2-0 win at home to Aston Villa on Saturday. Manchester City's earlier defeat was the perfect pre-match tonic for Liverpool and Nunez's 20th minute strike following a lightning counter-attack set the tone at Anfield.
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher made some vital saves to preserve his side's lead but Salah raced clear in the 84th minute to wrap up the points and maintain their sensational start to the season under new manager Arne Slot.
They have won 15 out of 17 games in all competitions since the Dutchman replaced Juergen Klopp in the close season. Slot's side have 28 points from 11 games with reigning champions City on 23. Villa's third league defeat of the season leaves them down in eighth place with 18 points.
Liverpool vs Aston Villa latest updates
- GOAL! Salah wraps it up
- GOAL! Nunez fires home the opener!
Full-time!
21:55 , Alex Young95min: That’s it!
Liverpool go five points clear at the top. They are the clear title favourites.
93min: Salah wants another, he’s still fighting for every ball.
90min: Four minutes added on.
86min: Endo replaces Mac Allister.
GOAL!
21:45 , Alex Young84min: Salah seals it!
A slip in the Villa defence, and that’s all the Egyptian needs to run through, a good 40 yards, to beat Martinez at his near post.
81min: Up one end, Konsa does brilliantly to deny Diaz and straight up the other Van Dijk gets a toe in ahead of Duran to concede another corner.
80min: Maatsen wins another corner... and this one is poor.
79min: Nervy moment for Liverpool as Konate gets in ahead of his keeper to divert a Villa corner behind for another.
74min: Onana and Digne make way for Kamara and Maatsen.
71min: Not much of a reaction yet from Villa. Duran as busy as ever.
66min: Philogene and Duran are on for Aston Villa, replacing Bailey and Watkins.
65min: Liverpool changes as Nunez and Jones make way for Gakpo and Szoboszlai.
61min: Smart from Van Dijk to win the ball back in the Villa final third, he quickly passes off to Nunez who cuts inside and drives a shot at Martinez.
58min: VAR check for a Villa penalty as Bradley tugged Torres’ shirt... it looks very soft, and wasn’t given on-field, and VAR agree.
55min: Villa still chasing shadows. Liverpool trying to draw them onto them, and win the ball high up.
51min: Liverpool trying to slow the play down a bit with some more measured passing. Villa chasing shadows.
51min: Liverpool trying to slow the play down a bit with some more measured passing. Villa chasing shadows.
48min: Nunez had to score, again!
Robertson with a spot-on cross onto Nunez’s head, but the striker heads the wrong side of the near post.
47min: Konate is limping a bit. One to keep an eye on.
46min: Oh my word, Rodgers with a glorious chance inside 30 seconds of the restart, driving down on goal but bending his shot beyond the far post.
Second half!
21:06 , Alex Young46min: Back underway. No changes.
Here come the teams.
You wonder if Emery will be pondering changes at the break.
He should probably get Martinez to stop time-wasting while losing a game.
Nunez's goal is the difference, and he could have had at least one more.
Aston Villa have had their chances, but the Reds are on top.
Alexander-Arnold and Ramsey both forced off with injuries.
Half-time!
20:51 , Alex Young49min: Oh, Nunez almost with a tap-in after Robertson gets to the byline, but Torres gets in a vital block.
And there’s the whistle!
46min: ...and McGinn is on.
45min: Three minutes added on.
44min: Bit of concern for Villa as Ramsey goes down after trying to tackle Salah. It looks like a hamstring injury and McGinn is immediately being readied for action.
41min: Nunez lets fly from distance, and it’s straight down Martinez’s throat.
SAVE!
20:40 , Alex Young38min: This one is even better! Carlos at the next corner, even closer and his header hits Kelleher and Watkins almost gets on the end of the rebound!
SAVE!
20:39 , Alex Young37min: Onana denied at the corner by a point-blank save from Kelleher. Big, big save!
35min: A fizzing cross from Digne is begging to be attacked in the six-yard box, but neither Rogers or Bailey react quick enough.
32min: Oh, Nunez! That's more like the Liverpool striker we know.
He has all the time in the world to bend a finish past Martinez when one on one... but blazes high and wide.
30min: Watkins does superbly to bring down a long ball over the top, hold off Van Dijk and then try to lay the ball off to Rogers... but Konate is there to stop the latter thing happen.
27min: So close a second for Liverpool and Nunez as Salah lofts one to the back post... but it’s inches out of reach.
24min: Alexander-Arnold cannot continue. I’m not sure when he injured himself, but Bradley is on to replace him.
22min: Straight up the other end, Watkins is felled by Alexander-Arnold in the Liverpool area... but the referee gives a free kick to Liverpool, for what I assume was a dive by Watkins?
It’s not clear as Watkins wasn’t booked.
GOAL!
20:22 , Alex Young20min: Nunez fires home, finishing off a stunning counter attack by rounding Martinez after Salah was felled in the build-up.
What a finish from Darwin!
15min: As I typed that, Villa almost went ahead!
Bailey flying in at the back post to meet a cross which is a shade too high for him, causing his header to flash over the bar.
14min: So much time-wasting for Villa already, mainly at Martinez goal kicks.
A miserable way to play football.
11min: Half-sight of goal for Watkins, on the edge of the area with Alexander-Arnold standing him up, so he takes a punt which sails high and wide.
9min: Liverpool firmly on top, Villa struggling to get out of their half at the moment.
First Liverpool corner from Robertson comes to nothing.
6min: Best move of the game so far as Liverpool break on Villa, sending Salah darting down the right. He cuts inside, looks up before trying to find the near bottom corner, but Torres blocks the shot.
4min: Plenty of early possession for Liverpool. A fairly tepid start from both.
2min: Early half-sight of goal for Liverpool as Nunez is sent scampering into the area but he can’t bring the ball under control in the area before tumbling to the floor.
Kick-off!
20:01 , Alex Young1min: Here we go!
Unai Emery on the Anfield atmosphere
19:55 , Alex Young"We know the atmosphere here is fantastic. The supporters stick with the team, but we have our supporters as well. We are playing for them tonight."
The players are in the tunnel.
Right, almost time. Anfield is buzzing for this one after that City result.
Trent Alexander-Arnold on the title race
19:52 , Alex Young"It's still early doors but we have set a good foundation for the rest of the season.
"We have been here before. We've had good starts to a season before and ended up with no trophies.”
Liverpool can now go five points clear at the top with a victory.
Brighton win, handing Man City their fourth defeat in a row across all competitions - the worst run on Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.
Over to Liverpool to get the job done.
This will give Liverpool such a boost heading into the fixture.
Brighton have now taken the lead! This is a remarkable collapse from the champions.
Brighton have just equalised against Man City, with about 10 minutes left to play.
If that result holds, Liverpool can go four points clear at the top by beating Aston Villa.
It's two changes for Liverpool as Nunez and Robertson come back in, replacing Gakpo and Tsimikas.
Aston Villa make four changes as Onana, Ramsey, Torres and Digne return.
Team news in full
18:52 , Alex YoungLiverpool XI: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Subs: Jaros, Gomez, Tsimikas, Quansah, Endo, Szoboszlai, Morton, Bradley, Gakpo
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins
Subs: Olsen, Mings, Maatsen, McGinn, Buendia, Bogarde, Kamara, Duran, Philogene
Aston Villa XI
18:46 , Alex Young...and the visiting Villans!
Unai Emery’s side to take on Liverpool 📋#LIVAVL || #UpTheVilla pic.twitter.com/JBnOYTvkrr
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 9, 2024
Liverpool XI
18:45 , Alex YoungHere’s how the hosts look!
Come on you Reds 💪🔴 #LIVAVL
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 9, 2024
Team news is expected in 15 minutes.
Unai Emery on Aston Villa form
18:20 , Alex YoungUnai Emery insists he is not worried about Aston Villa’s recent drop in form and maintains they are competitive enough to be a top-four side.
Villa have drawn one and lost three in the last four, although two of those defeats were in the Carabao Cup and Champions League, and have dropped to sixth in the Premier League.
"I'm not worried about how we are now," he said. "We are a competitive team to be in the top seven, top five, top four.
"My message, which was very clear from the start of the season when we were more or less getting points and being in the top four - not now but we were, was we are enjoying what we are doing.
"We had last year, a very successful season in Premier League, getting to the Champions League. This year, to keep it is the objective for us.
"But we are not contenders, we are not favourites - they are Liverpool, (Man) City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle.
"Of course there are some teams which are a surprise being there, like now Nottingham Forest. After last year, we were a surprise when we were getting the fourth position.
"There are another seven teams that we have to be more intelligent than and more competitive."
Arne Slot on Luis Diaz up top
18:13 , Alex YoungSpeaking earlier in the week, Arne Slot admitted even he was surprised how well Luis Diaz did as an experimental centre forward.
The Liverpool manager has already tried a number of variations up front, changing from his preferred centre forward due to an injury to Diogo Jota to line up with a false nine and, on one occasion two false nines.
"Lucho did really well and if was, even for me, maybe a bit of a surprise to see how well he did," he said.
"I played him there for a reason, I expected him to do good but that he played so well that was even a surprise for me."
If early team news reports are to be believed, it doesn’t sound like Diaz has been given the nod up top again.
It sounds like Darwin Nunez starts. What does that mean for Luis Diaz?
Latest match odds
17:59 , Alex YoungThe bookies are banking on this to be fairly routine for Liverpool.
- Liverpool to win: 4/9
- Draw: 15/4
- Aston Villa to win: 5/1
Score prediction
17:55 , Alex YoungLiverpool have largely been so strong at home all season that its difficult to look past them here.
Liverpool to win, 2-1.
Aston Villa team news
17:49 , Alex YoungAston Villa manager Unai Emery is hopeful Youri Tielemans will be available as he is currently playing with knee pain and was omitted from Belgium's squad for their forthcoming internationals.
Fellow midfielder Amadou Onana could return after being an unused substitute in the Champions League while defenders Lucas Digne and Pau Torres should come back in.
Liverpool team news
17:42 , Alex YoungLuiz Diaz is tonight pushing for a start. The Colombian was played through the middle against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek and scored three times in the second half as the Reds won 4-0 to hand the German side only their second defeat in Europe in over a year.
Diaz has lost his place in the Premier League in recent weeks, coming off the bench in wins against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and, most recently, Brighton, but is knocking on manager Arne Slot’s door after his midweek treble.
Darwin Nunez would have to make way for Diaz’s central role, or move back onto the left flank. Elsewhere, Andy Robertson is fighting to keep his left-back spot ahead of Kostas Tsimikas
Otherwise it is a case of as you were for Slot, with Alisson Becker (thigh), Diogo Jota (stomach), Harvey Elliott (foot) and Federico Chiesa (fitness) all still sidelined until after the international break.
Jota is not expected until “a couple of games” after the international break.
How to watch Liverpool vs Aston Villa
17:35 , Alex YoungTV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate. Coverage starts at 7pm GMT ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Discovery+ app.
Welcome
17:29 , Alex YoungGood evening and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Under the lights at Anfield, against two of the nation’s best teams - this could be a cracker.
Liverpool are beating (almost) all before them to sit pretty at the top of the table - though Man City could leapfrog them with a win over Brighton before kick-off.
Aston Villa head into the game after back-to-back defeats, but can beat any team on their day. Kick-off is at 8pm.
