Merseyside clubs Everton and Liverpool have had been dealt an injury blow which effects both teams, with news Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez could miss the final games of the season.
Martinez picked up a knock in training on Wednesday which could rule him out of Thursday night's game against Burnley, where a win for the Clarets will take them above Everton with one game to play if Frank Lampard's side lose to Crystal Palace. For the Reds, Steven Gerrard's side take on Man City on the final day of the season knowing a City win will see them retain the Premier League title.
Should the former Arsenal shotstopper miss the last games of the season, Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen - who was on loan at Everton last season - will deputise in goal. The 32-year-old is currently on loan from Italian club Roma and has not made an appearance for Villa. He last played in a 2-0 defeat to Poland at the end of March.
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But Gerrard has eased fears that Olsen will not be ready to don the gloves if called upon, claiming that he is 'champing at the bit'. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “Emi’s a doubt at the moment. We’re just analysing the situation that happened today in training, but I think he’ll play and he’ll be fine. It was just a knock in training. We’ll analyse it. I’m confident he’ll be there.
"If he’s not there, Robin’s champing at the bit. He’s been awesome. He’s trained well and he’s ready and I’ll have no qualms putting Robin in if I have to. If Emi’s fit and he’s fine - we’ll assess him in the next hour or two - then he’ll play.”
Both Liverpool and Everton will be hoping Villa can do them a favour in their next two games, allowing the Toffees to maintain their Premier League status for at least another season while Jurgen Klopp will be aiming to win the league title for the second time in three years should City drop points on Sunday and Liverpool beat Wolves at Anfield.
