Liverpool will be looking for three points on their return to Premier League action on Boxing Day, as they take on Aston Villa at Villa Park.
After their Carabao Cup defeat against Manchester City last Thursday, Liverpool play their first Premier League game since November 12 with a trip to the West Midlands against Villa. The Reds' last league outing saw Darwin Nunez score twice in a 3-1 win over Southampton, with the Reds entering the Boxing Day clash in sixth.
The last time Liverpool took part in a Boxing Day fixture was a memorable one, with the Reds producing one of their best-ever displays under Jurgen Klopp in a 4-0 win against Leicester City. The Reds are expected to have a full squad to pick from against Villa, apart from Ibrahima Konate, who remains absent after reaching the 2022 World Cup final with France.
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So, can the Reds channel a similar performance to the 2019 Boxing Day win over Leicester when they face Aston Villa? We simulated the game to predict the score.
*Simulation was done before confirmation that Roberto Firmino would miss the game at Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Villa could set up in a 4-2-2-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Luiz, Kamara; Buendia, Ramsey; Watkins, Ings.
We predict that the Reds could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Elliott, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Nunez.
It was a tense first half at Villa Park, with Unai Emery's side sitting deep, soaking up pressure and making it hard for Liverpool to try anything other than shooting from range. The Reds were finding it hard to break past the stern Villa backline, but a big stroke of fortune fell the Reds' way in the 58th minute as Klopp's side went 1-0 up.
As Lucas Digne went to play a pass to Tyrone Mings across the defence, the Frenchman dragged his pass under pressure from Mohamed Salah, with the ball going well past Mings and into the path of Firmino. The Brazilian capitalised on the error as he went through one-on-one with the 'keeper, firing across goal and into the bottom corner.
Villa were forced to push forward more for the final 30 minutes after going a goal down, and this worked in the Reds' favour, with Firmino, Salah and Harvey Elliott all coming close. Liverpool did manage to confirm the victory in the 83rd minute though as they went two goals ahead through Nunez.
On the left, the forward anticipated an interception from Andrew Robertson on the sideline, and Nunez burst forward to offer Robertson a forward pass. The defender played a long ball down the line for Nunez to collect and break towards goal with, and a smart strike saw the Uruguayan fire past the 'keeper at his near post to make it two.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that Liverpool could produce a dominant display against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, with Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez scoring in a 2-0 win in the simulation. Bar the 7-2 defeat at Villa Park in 2020, the Reds have a great record at Villa Park, and that theme could continue on Boxing Day according to this prediction.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments.
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