Aston Villa vs Liverpool predicted line-ups: Team news ahead of FA Cup tie tonight

Liverpool have not won in their last three games

When is the match?

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The game kicks off at 7.45pm on Friday 8 January.

Where can I watch it?  

The match will be shown live on BT Sport 2. Subscribers can also stream the match via the BT Sport website or app.

What is the team news?  

Liverpool have a number of absent players, with Joel Matip, Naby Keita, Diego Jota, Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk all out injured.  

Klopp could be making some drastic changes from the clash with Southampton, possibly meaning a new goalkeeper and back four, which may include James Milner.

Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are likely to keep their spots, with Klopp keen to get them plenty of playing time at this stage of the season.

The Reds’ could see three changes in attack with Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Taukmi Minamino all in with a chance of starting, while Curtis Jones could also feature in the line-up.

Villa had injury concerns surrounding Trezeguet and Wesley, while Ross Barkley was set to return to the starting XI on Friday. Dean Smith will be wanting to field a strong side, but his side’s Covid outbreak means that is unlikely to be possible. It is as yet unclear which players have tested positive for the disease and/or are self-isolating, though Smith, who may not even be present at the game, will likely discuss an XI with a mixture of Under-23 and Under-18 players.

While it remains unclear which players could be used, as some may have trained in the first team bubble and will therefore be unavailable, below is the last Under-23 XI used by the club.

Predicted line ups  

Villa XI: Onodi, Hayden, Revan, Bridge, Chrisene, Bogarde, Sylla, Chukwuemeka, Wright, Barry, Philogene-Bidace

Liverpool XI: Kelleher, N Williams, R Williams, Phillips, Milner, Jones, Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Origi, Shaqiri.

Odds

Aston Villa 14.0, 13/1

Liverpool – 1.2, 1/5

Draw – 10.5, 19/2

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