Aston Villa Vs Liverpool
Tuesday 17th December 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
EFL Cup
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: 41/50
Bookmaker: Unibet
EFL Cup Betting at 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct at the time of writing: 15th December 2019 at 13:25)
Preview: The entire Liverpool squad has travelled to Doha, Qatar for the FIFA Club World Cup leaving the youngsters to contest this EFL Cup fixture with Aston Villa at Villa Park. It feels like a bizarre match-up, which is probably why Sky Sports have chosen it as one of their live games.
Aston Villa Preview – Reaching the last-four a formality?
Under normal circumstances, being drawn against the current best team in the country would be considered wretched bad luck. These are not normal circumstances though, with Aston Villa seemingly handed a glorious opportunity to reach the semi-finals of a competition last won back in 1995-96. Their odds to win inside 90 minutes, which are in the region of 1/4, seem utterly preposterous but accurately reflect what is set to await them on Tuesday.
If Dean Smith cannot put out a team good enough to comfortably see to a Liverpool side that will comprise solely of youth prospects, well then serious questions will surely be asked about both him and his players. Results from previous round would imply there is nothing to worry about, though, with Crewe (1-6) and Brighton (1-3) both dispatched with consummate ease. This will also be the first encounter of the tournament to be staged at Villa Park.
The home faithful will want a show here. To be perfectly honest, they should settle for even a win at this moment in time – with their last in any competition almost a month ago at home to Newcastle in the Premier League, winning none of four since which includes a current run of three straight league defeats. Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Sheffield United being the latest, which was compounded towards the end by Jack Grealish thumping an effort against the crossbar from a penalty.
Liverpool Preview – Young Reds to show their worth?
Flying in the league, perched some ten points clear of their closest pursuer as the club hones in on a long overdue Premier League title. Liverpool are also flying elsewhere. To Qatar, to be more precise, for the FIFA Club World Cup. A competition Jurgen Klopp has made very clear about his intentions of trying to win seeing as how the German decided to take a full complement of first-team players halfway across the globe with him, leaving a shadow squad for this EFL Cup encounter.
It will be kids, essentially, heading to Villa Park bidding to further the club’s progression in this competition. In fairness, the earlier rounds would also feature some of these up-and-coming prospects, with a mixture of youth and experience part of that thrilling affair with Arsenal in the previous round that went all the way to penalties after a 5-5 draw in normal time. There will be no James Milner to inspire a comeback this time though, nor the clinical finishing of Divock Origi to bail them out of any trouble. Among a host of key players who are absent.
On this basis, it isn’t necessarily a simple task gauging what we can or should be expecting from The Reds in this clash. Many on show formed the nucleus of the team which recently topped its group in the UEFA Youth League, losing only one of six games in the process (W4 D1 L1). Replicating these efforts against more seasoned professionals will be an altogether tougher proposition, of course, but such is the euphoria surrounding the club at the moment that a valiant display is the minimum we can expect.
Aston Villa Vs Liverpool – Key Facts:
- Aston Villa eliminated Crew (1-6) and Brighton (1-3) earlier in the tournament. They also arrive in disappointing form with three straight defeats, all in the league.
- Liverpool seen off MK Dons (0-2) before dumping Arsenal out on penalties after an astonishing 5-5 draw in normal time.
- Earlier in the term, Aston Villa hosted Liverpool in the league, taking an early lead but still ending up on the end of a 2-1 defeat.
Betting Summary
Provided that Aston Villa (1/4 Betfair) manager Dean Smith opts against going overboard with any team changes, this should be Villa progressing further in the tournament at the expense of a youthful Liverpool (11/1 Bet365) side whose priorities are clearly elsewhere – and understandably so. However, the home side are enduring a poor spell of form of late, losing three on the bounce in the league whilst continuing to ship far too many goals. That could provide some hope to these young Reds seeking to make a name for themselves whilst also trying to impress the manager, who will surely be watching from afar.
I’m sure Klopp would have given his remaining contingent a rousing speech in preparation for this game and I don’t necessarily expect Neil Critchley’s Liverpool youngsters to roll over without giving this everything. Aston Villa’s superior quality and all the rest should prove too much in theory. However, defensively Villa are far from watertight and are still without Tyrone Mings.
