Aston Villa and Liverpool can assure themselves a place in the League Phase of next season’s Champions League with a victory at Villa Park on Friday.

Heading into matchday 37, the Reds sit fourth in the Premier League table after drawing 1-1 against Chelsea, which has them above the Birmingham club on goal difference, with the latter drawing Burnley 2-2 last weekend.

Match Preview

A disappointing campaign for the Merseyside club is reaching its end very soon, but the Redmen still have a chance to salvage some pride with a victory on Friday. Doing so would put them in the Champions League for a third successive campaign, and guaranteeing a top 5 finish, which once seemed like a distant dream.

Liverpool have failed to win their final away match in a Premier League campaign in each of the past three seasons, conceding 10 goals in total over that stretch. Arne Slot’s men have lost eight away matches in the top-flight this season, the most for this club in a single campaign since 2011-12 (10).

In 10 of their previous 11 top-flight visits to Villa Park, Liverpool have netted multiple times, including each of those last six such outings. After winning the reverse fixture against the Villans 2-0 in November, the Reds could do the league double against them for the first time since 2021-22 and claim consecutive Premier League clean sheets versus Villa for the first time since 1995-96.

Credits: Liverpoolfc.com

Down the stretch of the campaign, Aston Villa are struggling to finish strong, currently on a three-match winless run in this competition, one fewer than their longest stretch without a domestic victory this year.

Unai Emery’s side have won two of their previous three league outings at home but could suffer consecutive top-flight defeats at Villa Park on Friday for the second time in 2026.

From October of last year until January 2026, no one won more Premier League matches than Villa (13), but from February until now, they have picked up the fifth-fewest points in this competition (13). Villa have not lost their final top-flight affair at home on six successive occasions, blanking Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 last season.

Team News

Knee injuries may prevent Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni from featuring for Liverpool on Friday, Jayden Danns and Stefan Bajcetic are doubtful due to hamstring strains, while Alisson and Mohamed Salah remain questionable because of muscle issues.

A sore foot may keep Wataru Endo on the sidelines, Florian Wirtz could be back from his illness, while Hugo Ekitiké is out with an Achilles injury.

Salah had a goal and an assist in the Reds’ previous visit to Villa Park, with his strike set up by late Diogo Jota, the last assist he would register in the Premier League before his tragic death last July.

On the other side, in the home camp, Boubacar Kamara will be doubtful for Friday with a knee injury, and Amadou Onana could be omitted as he recovers from a knock.

Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has failed to win his last nine Premier League starts against the Reds, conceding multiple strikes on seven of those occasions.

Ollie Watkins has 12 goal involvements in his last 13 appearances across all competitions, while John McGinn has five in his previous six such outings.

Team Prediction

Aston Villa: Martínez; Cash, Lindelöf, Mings, Digne; Konsa, Barkley; McGinn, Tielemans, Luiz; Watkins

Liverpool: Mamardashvili; Jones, Konaté, van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Frimpong, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Isak

Score Prediction