Crouchy’s Shouts for Liverpool v Aston Villa
Monday, Dec 26th, 5:30pm, Live on Amazon Prime/Premier Sports
- Liverpool to win
- Mo Salah to score
- Darwin Nunez to have 1+ Shots on target
- John McGinn to be carded
*A Bet Builder on these selections adds up to 12/1 on PaddyPower.com. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY
Both teams are going to be welcoming players back from the World Cup and they’re obviously going to still be feeling the effects. I’m thinking, in particular of Argentina, and Aston Villa, goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
What kind of shape is he going to be in after the celebrations?!
I don’t think we’ll be seeing him for a while, and Villa don’t have many high-calibre reserve options. Liverpool have had plenty of players appearing at the World Cup too of course. It was a bit of a strange time to have a World Cup but we all knew that anyway; having it mid-season and it’s not like the players have been playing for a few weeks over the summer, then get a short break, these guys are right back at it straight away.
Nobody really knows how the teams and players are going to react but I do think we’re going to see some strange results over the coming weeks.
Liverpool have been inconsistent this season too, although they did get better as the break approached and I think we’ll see a further improvement as the season progresses. They had a difficult start to the campaign with some bad results and some injuries too, their forward line was really hit and they’ve had time now to get players back who weren’t in action in Qatar and I think most Liverpool players will feel they have a point to prove.
Luis Diaz is injured which is a real shame as he brings some real quality to the team but Mo Salah and Robert Firmino didn’t feature in Qatar and will be fit and ready to go.
Darwin Nunez played in the Group Stages for Uruguay but he’s had a bit of time off so he should be fine too. Loads of Liverpool players have had a well-earned rest and, as I said before, they all had a difficult start to the season but I think now we’ll see them push on and improve over the coming fixtures and I think they’ll be pushing to get back into the Top 4 come the end of the season.
Unai Emery has had some time now with most of his Villa squad and I’ve got to say I really like him as a manager, I had a lot of time for his Villarreal side, they were solid and difficult to beat and they could really hurt you too.
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Of course, everyone in England is going to remember his time at Arsenal but really that job is his only real blip on his CV. I think that was a difficult job and it all went a bit toxic after Arsene Wenger left I’m afraid. I think he’ll do well at Villa, he’s started well with two wins from his first three games and the fans are behind him too and I just think he’ll really improve that squad over the next season or two.
On their day, Villa can beat anyone, it’s just that they were very inconsistent under Steven Gerrard and especially at the back there were some frailties. I think Emery is a really experienced manager and he’ll turn it around there. This is a dangerous fixture for Liverpool but I do feel the Reds will edge it because the likes of those players I mentioned previously will be well-rested and raring to go again.
I can really see Mo putting on a bit of a show here and I can certainly see him getting a couple of goals. He’s had a nice little rest now, he’ll be well refreshed and he’ll have been training properly and I think he’ll be raring to go. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot of Salah and him back to his best over the remainder of the season too.
I think Liverpool have to make a statement over their next few games and really get back into saving their league season. Their Champions League campaign has been great, winning five of their six matches in what wasn’t an easy group but they need to get back into the mix in the Premier League and I reckon this mid-season break is really going to work to Liverpool’s advantage. One player who will be key from now until the end of the season is Nunez.
I think Scotland’s John McGinn would be a good shout to pick up a booking here. I think it’s going to be a long 90 minutes for anyone playing in the middle for Villa. They’re going to see a whole load of traffic coming through there and we’re likely to see a few Liverpool players brought to ground. McGinn has four Yellow Cards this season and he could be adding to his tally at Anfield on Boxing Day.
Liverpool v Aston Villa Bet Builder tips
CROUCHY’S SHOUTS
- Liverpool to Win
- Mo Salah to Score
- Darwin Nunez to have 1+ Shots on target
- John McGinn to be Carded
*A Bet Builder on these selections adds up to 12/1 on PaddyPower.com. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY
All odds quoted correct at time of publication but subject to change
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