Stevie ‘give us a smile’ v Liverpool

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Keita, Jones; Diaz, Mane, Jota.

Subs: Kelleher, Konate, Thiago, Milner, Firmino, Salah, Gomez, Henderson, Origi,

A potentially exciting conclusion to the season is in store for Aston Villa, who are up to 11th in the table after recording back-to-back Premier League (PL) wins. A first top-ten PL finish since the 2010/11 season is now a very real possibility for Villa, consolidated by the fact they hold games in hand on those sides around them.

There’ll be mixed emotions when Liverpool legend and current Villa manager Steven Gerrard leads his side out, but with most of Villa's mid-table rivals not playing in midweek, Villa could catapult themselves into the top-half with an unlikely victory. Yet Villa have lost three of their last five home matches (W2), during a spate of fixtures where only the victorious side on the day found the net, so getting the upper hand against their title-chasing visitors could be crucial.

Liverpool’s hopes of a PL title and a potential quadruple took a major blow after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last time out allowed league-leaders Manchester City to open up a three-point gap at the top. Racking up a 16-game unbeaten streak in the league (W13, D3) might ultimately end up being in vain for Jürgen Klopp’s men, with the Liverpool boss proclaiming he "‘can’t see City dropping any points" as the season draws to its conclusion.

The ‘Reds’ are still the highest scorers on the road though (averaging 2.41 goals per game), but one eye may also be firmly fixed on Saturday’s FA Cup final where Liverpool will look to pick up their second trophy of the campaign. A trip here could be the perfect rehearsal for that showpiece as Liverpool’s 14 away PL H2H wins at Villa is the most they’ve won on their travels at any opposition in the competition, and adding to that tally would also heap the pressure back onto City ahead of their trip to Wolves on Wednesday.

Players to watch: Former Liverpool midfield maestro Philippe Coutinho has seen six of his seven PL goal contributions (G4, A3) this season come at Villa Park, while current ‘Red’ talisman Mohamed Salah will be looking to add to his tally of five goals in his last four matches against Villa.

Hot stat: Liverpool have won all 18 of their PL games this season when facing sides in the bottom half of the table come kick-off.