Liverpool will bid farewell to some club legends on Saturday as they look to remain in the Premier League top-four race when they take on Aston Villa.
A Curtis Jones brace followed by a fantastic Trent Alexander-Arnold strike secured a 3-0 win over Leicester City in Liverpool's last outing, making it seven wins on the bounce as the Reds remained hot on the heels of Newcastle United and Manchester United.
The clash with Villa will be the final home game of the season for Jurgen Klopp's side, and the Reds will be hoping for three points as they say goodbye to Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita. The Reds must win both their remaining games whilst hoping Newcastle or Man United drop at least four points in their remaining fixtures to claim a top-four spot.
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So, can get the Reds pick up three points against Villa on Saturday? Let's take a look.
Liverpool vs Aston Villa 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 Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz.
We predict that Villa could line up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; McGinn, Kamara, Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins.
Liverpool almost took the lead after five minutes at Anfield when Alexander-Arnold took aim 25 yards from goal, but Emiliano Martinez was alert in the Villa goal, tipping the effort over the crossbar with an acrobatic save. The Reds were in full control, and they eventually took a deserved lead 23 minutes in.
After Mohamed Salah stung the gloves of the 'keeper to earn a corner, the Egyptian almost scored from the resulting set piece when his flicked header at the near post was parried into the air by Martinez. Virgil van Dijk was the quickest to react to the loose ball, and the defender rose unchallenged to head into the net from close range.
It was a brilliant first-half display from Klopp's side who were camping in the Villa half, with Alexander-Arnold running the show from midfield once again. The Englishman was seeing lots of the ball, and a brilliant pass from the 24-year-old setup Luis Diaz for Liverpool's second.
On the edge of the centre circle, Alexander-Arnold spotted Diaz's run, picking the winger out with a lofted pass over the top of the Villa defence. Diaz took the ball in his stride to go one-on-one with the 'keeper, and he curled his shot into the bottom corner to double the lead.
Off the bench in the second half, Firmino almost grabbed Liverpool's third when he met Salah's cross with a diving header, but his effort was well saved by the 'keeper to deny a dream send-off. Villa didn't threaten the Reds' goal in the second half as Klopp's side held out for an important win.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that Liverpool could make it eight wins in a row, beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the simulation. The Reds dominated every aspect of the game in a straightforward win, with Alexander-Arnold picking up Player of the Match in another fantastic performance from the Englishman.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments.
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