Liverpool are taking on Aston Villa tonight in desperate need to arrest their slump and get their troubled season back on track.
Arne Slot’s Premier League champions have lost six of their past seven games in an extraordinary downturn since winning the first five games of the campaign. Pressure is increasing on the Liverpool manager to find that elusive league win that will stop the rot and keep alive hopes of retaining the title.
Aston Villa’s season has gone in the opposite direction, and their early struggles have been forgotten after a run of six games unbeaten in the Premier League and four wins in a row. Unai Emery’s side pulled off a surprise victory over Manchester City last time out and will be confident they can add the champions to their list of scalps.
Both sides begin the game on 15 points, so who will climb the table tonight? Follow all the goals and latest updates from Liverpool v Aston Villa below.
Elliott divides opinion but unhappy Villa move leaves no winnersHere’s Richard Jolly on the struggles of Aston Villa’s summer recruit from Liverpool:
Harvey Elliott will not play at Anfield on Saturday. Which, in its own way, could suit everyone. With a loanee ineligible, Liverpool are spared the possibility of being condemned to a seventh defeat in eight games by a player they discarded after their record spending spree. Unai Emery, meanwhile, will not face questions about why he has not picked a signing who, if his loan becomes permanent, will become Aston Villa’s biggest buy of 2026.
Elliott did not play at Anfield much last season, either. Not from the start, anyway. He began only five matches and just one, an FA Cup win over Accrington, on home soil. If the last few weeks may have made Liverpool far more nostalgic for the Jurgen Klopp era, Elliott may have felt such pangs for the recent past long before many another. He started 27 games in the German’s valedictory campaign. His tally of 53 appearances was the second highest in the squad (second only to Darwin Nunez, another since directed to the Anfield exit) and he chalked up 14 assists.
Elliott could seem the likeable lad who divides footballing opinion. He seemed part of Klopp’s legacy. He ended his England Under-21 career as the player of the tournament as Lee Carsley’s team retained their European Championships crown. And he has spent the last 16 months of his club career under Arne Slot and Emery, managers who do not seem to rate him; or not highly enough, anyway.
Read the full story:
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 19:22
Tottenham v ChelseaMeanwhile down in London, Tottenham and Chelsea are clashing in a derby match. You can follow the end of that one here:
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 19:09
Liverpool v Aston VillaSo here are those teams written out in full:
Liverpool: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai; Gakpo; Ekitike.
Subs: Banquillo, Woodman, Pecsi, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Wirtz, Chiesa, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Onana, Guessand, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Lindelof, Mings, Barkley, Malen, Sancho, Maatsen, Bogarde, Broggia.
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:53
Aston Villa line-upAnd here’s how Villa line up:
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:50
Liverpool line-upHere’s the Liverpool XI, and Florian Wirtz is on the bench:
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:49
Liverpool v Aston VillaTeam news will be landing shortly…
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:42
Liverpool v Aston VillaVilla have won their last four league matches and are one place behind Slot’s team in the table, but level on points.
Liverpool then host LaLiga leaders Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to fifth-place Manchester City on November 9.
The Merseyside team’s troublesome start, which included an ugly fourth-round League Cup exit on Wednesday in a 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, comes despite the club spending £446m on new recruits in the close season.
However, Slot said he was pleased with his squad.
“We miss nothing,” he said. “I am completely happy with the team and with all the quality that we have and I am also completely convinced by the strategy and the policy that we have, but not all of them have had a proper pre-season or have been injured.
“When three or four are injured you go back to 16 players,” Slot added. “You have to keep them fit as we did last season… A few others have missed out on pre-season or had injuries during pre-season.
“It has been more difficult than last season to keep them all available. Maybe last season we were more lucky and now we are more unlucky. But, no excuses for our results before people say this.
(Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:29
Liverpool v Aston Villa Liverpool head into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa desperate to halt a miserable run of six defeats in their last seven outings across all competitions, but manager Arne Slot faces a selection headache.
Injured striker Alexander Isak and goalkeeper Alisson have yet to return to training, and Slot told reporters on Friday he was “99.9% sure (they are) not in the squad on Saturday”.
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch could feature after training on Thursday in a bit of good news for Slot’s reigning champions whose slump has them seven points behind league leaders Arsenal in seventh in the standings and facing a string of tough games.
“In the end phase of the injury, things can slow down a bit or things can go faster but Ryan trained with us yesterday and he will train with us today and then we will make the call whether he is able to start,” Slot said.
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:16
Predicted line-upsHow to two sides could line up tonight…
Liverpool XI: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike.
Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Kamara; Malen, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins.
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 18:03
Liverpool v Aston Villa – Team newsThe game will come too soon for Liverpool duo Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones, who remain sidelined with injuries. A return could be in the offing for Ryan Gravenberch, however, who has been sidelined since the loss to Manchester United two weeks ago.
Aston Villa cannot call on the services of loanee Harvey Elliott due to the fact Liverpool are his parent club, though this likely won’t prove an issue to Unai Emery’s selection with the midfielder starved of minutes. Emiliano Buendia is also out with a foot injury.
Lawrence Ostlere1 November 2025 17:50
