Filed under: Aston Villa, Liverpool, Premier League, Football, Match Previews
PREMIER LEAGUE: ANFIELD: MONDAY DECEMBER 6, 2010: KICK-OFF 2000 GMTAll eyes will be on Gerard Houllier as the Frenchman makes his first competitive return to Anfield.
He may have endured criticism before his departure in 2004, but Houllier is assured of a warm reception from the Kop after winning five major trophies in his six-year spell in charge.
Four pieces of silverware alone were secured in 2001, but three years later he was gone.
Now the 63-year-old Houllier is back with his struggling Aston Villa side, desperate for points to halt a slide which has seen his team win once in nine league games.
Liverpool are desperate for the points themselves.
Since defeating Chelsea at Anfield on November 7, Roy Hodgson's side have won once in four games and threw away the lead to lose 2-1 defeat at Tottenham last weekend.
But Anfield is slowly turning into home sweet home for Liverpool. Victory over Villa will make it four successive home wins in the league.
Hodgson has invited Houllier, who underwent heart surgery while in charge at Liverpool, to enjoy a glass of red wine with him after the match. But the current Liverpool manager will be hoping to see a vintage performance from his own players first.
Form Guide: One win in four has left Liverpool's position in the top half of the table under severe threat. But the visit of Villa at least represents the start of a run of games that could see them build some momentum ahead of next month's Merseyside derby. Newcastle, Fulham, Blackpool, Wolves, Bolton and Blackburn await Hodgson's team before they entertain Everton at Anfield on January 16. Having been denied a place in the Carling Cup semi-final by bitter neighbours Birmingham, Villa need to get their season back on track quickly.
Key Match-up: Pepe Reina v Gabriel Agbonlahor: Reina has kept 99 clean sheets in 197 league matches and is poised to reach the century landmark faster than any other Liverpool keeper. The current record holder is Ray Clemence, who needed 217 league matches to reach 100 clean sheets. Reina will be confident of writing his name in Liverpool's record books against a Villa side which has won one in seven in all competitions. Agbonlahor showed by scoring against Birmingham in midweek that he is inching back to the form which saw him score 16 times last term.
Odds: Liverpool 4-6, Aston Villa 11/2, Draw 14-5
LIVERPOOL:
Hodgson is keen to upset close friend Houllier and ruin the Villa manager's return to Anfield.
The pair have enjoyed a friendship stretching two decades while Houllier even joined Hodgson on the Liverpool bench for Jamie Carragher's testimonial in September.
But Hodgson is demanding three points from his players to kick-start what has been a frustrating, stop-start campaign.
"I am delighted Gerard is back in English football and I am certain he will get a very good reception when he comes to Anfield," said Hodgson. "People appreciate the work he did for Liverpool during his team as manager here.
"Nothing is easy anymore and we know his team will be hard to beat, well-organised and they have some very good individual players.
"But we are going into the game with quite a few fresh legs seeing as we were able to rest a few players for the Europa League trip to Bucharest.
"I'm hoping we'll carry on from where we left off in the last couple of games, in particular the games against West Ham and Tottenham, and if we can play at that level for the rest of the season, I have high hopes we'll do well."
Strategy: To attack like they did against Tottenham. Apart from the result, and Fernando Torres's poor finishing, there was not a lot that Liverpool did wrong in their last league game. But Torres is certainly going to have to sharpen up his act. Despite being presented with a hatful of chances, the Spanish striker has not scored in his last three outings and looks sluggish.
Injury Update: Carragher is sidelined with a long-term shoulder injury while fellow defender Daniel Agger is still recovering from a calf problem. Steven Gerrard could make a timely return from a hamstring injury.
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