Liverpool vs Aston Villa: FA Cup Preview

After a three-year wait, Liverpool are set to return to “Anfield South” tomorrow to face Aston Villa in this weekend’s second FA Cup semi-final.

The timing of the fixture is not best appreciated by either clubs as Liverpool are still sore after crushing defeats from Arsenal and bitter rivals Manchester United and Villa have been precariously dragging themselves from the relegation battle.

With both teams looking to avenge recent slips, tomorrow’s result may be made even more significant as the losing side could find themselves in free-fall with Villa finding themselves dangerously close to relegation or Liverpool missing out on European qualification.

Liverpool’s chances of retaining a Champions League spot has taken a blow following recent defeats against top four rivals Arsenal and Manchester United, leaving Brendan Rodgers side four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City with six games left of the season.

The prospect of silverware could ease pressure on the Liverpool manager as the FA Cup provides as one last terrace for the Reds to control their own fate for next season.

Nothing can be taken away from Rodgers however, the Northern Irishman has been finding ways for his side to grind out results with tweaks to the line-up to compensate for a hash of notable suspensions and injuries to his squad.

Since taking over at Villa, Tim Sherwood has helped Christian Benteke rediscover his form, stabilised a squad that looked set to fall straight through the bottom of the Premier League table and land in the Championship.

Social media would have you believe that Sherwood is a bumbling idiot with no idea how to manage a squad of professional footballers but he may be exactly what the Villains, a team with low morale and confidence, need right now.

His eccentric touchline celebrations and battle cries can galvanise a team of footballers and maybe even their fans but whether he will be able to maintain the current improvement curve is still very much an open question.

A win for Villa would be a boost, not only for the West Midlands club but also for Tim Sherwood as it surely be the light at the end of the tunnel for him.

Still, the difference in overall quality of the two squads should see Liverpool dominate in areas which could be pivotal in the fixture. These areas include set-pieces, aerial duels, individual duels and defensive errors, not to mention Liverpool’s niche to counter-attack incredibly well with players like Phil Coutinho and Raheem Sterling.

Liverpool’s defenders will surely have been doing their research on Benteke and I wouldn’t be surprised if Rodgers opted for four at the back, like we saw against Newcastle. With Martin Skrtel’s suspension coming to an end, I would expect that he is to partner Dejan Lovren with Alberto Moreno and Glen Johnson filling in on their respective flanks.

With Johnson and Moreno playing wide, and Lucas Leiva dropping deeper, it would be easy for Liverpool to flood midfield and take control of the game. I’d expect to see this happen a number of times throughout the game, especially if Liverpool find themselves behind.

Steven Gerrard is another returning player for Rodgers this weekend and if he doesn’t start I’d look for him to enter the field in the second half, especially if Liverpool need some inspiration. Given Stevie’s current lack of games and inbound American journey it may prove to be a very talked about decision, whatever he decides to do, in years to come.

The midfield does seem pretty straight forward though, regardless of formation I expect to see Jordan Henderson, Lucas and/or Joe Allen with Coutinho and Sterling playing the more advanced roles.

It is in attack where the most interesting choices come about for Rodgers. With Daniel Sturridge being given a late opportunity to test his fitness it wouldn’t be a shock to see Coutinho playing in the “false nine” role again, regardless of who fills in on the right (likely to be Lazar Markovic). This would provide Liverpool the flexibility to use one or both of Sturridge and Mario Balotelli from the bench should it be necessary.

As per, for Liverpool, it will be a source for goals that will be the main question. In typical style I’d expect those goals to come in the form of long-range efforts and/or close and quick football in the 18 yard box – both of which have become somewhat a speciality of Coutinho’s of recent.

All being said makes for a very tight Cup game which could be decided by a single goal, however, an early goal from Liverpool could see a bloody rout which the fans have been thirsty for. An early goal from Villa could see the game take a very usual route of a FA Cup fixture.

Given Rodgers’ tendencies, here is how I see Liverpool lining up tomorrow:

Not exactly what I would do, anybody crazy enough to be following me on Twitter would know that I’d start Balotelli. And on that bombshell, it’s time to end – goodnight!