Liverpool: Defend Deep, Keep Midfield The Same And Shoot From Distance vs Villa

Following on from my short analysis on how Aston Villa can get the better of Liverpool tomorrow, I thought that I would take a look at it the other way round.

As mentioned in the previous piece, Aston Villa have pace up front, and Liverpool are noteably sluggish at the back. To solve that problem, I think Brendan Rodgers will have a plan to keep his backline sitting in a deep position in a way that will exclude Agbonlahor from the game and frustrate him into dropping into the midfield to collect the ball.

In terms of midfield options, I would keep it how it was in their game against Stoke City, with Gerrard and Lucas in the middle and Jordan Henderson over to the right and Raheem Sterling on the left, with Philippe Coutinho acting as the creative hub.

Liverpool have scored 51 goals this season, second to only Manchester City this season, and have the joint amount of goals from outside the area. On the back of that, I would suggest that Rodgers tells his players to have a pop from distance.

If nothing comes of it, as long as it is testing Brad Guzan, then it’ll fire the fans up or could perhaps create opportunities – a win/win? Yes, for me.