Liverpool have a quick turnaround after their 2-1 win over Wolves as they prepare for a trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday night, with Arne Slot’s side knowing they can go ten points clear at the top with a win
Liverpool have the chance to go ten points clear of Premier League rivals Arsenal this week if they can secure victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
Arne Slot led his side to a narrow 2-1 win over Wolves on the weekend after the Gunners briefly reduced their lead by beating Leicester City 2-0 on Saturday with a depleted squad.
The Reds are now bidding to extend their advantage over Mikel Arteta’s men, but they’ll face a tough test against an impressive Villa side under Unai Emery.
Mirror Football has taken a look at the biggest stories, team news and gossip around Liverpool ahead of the game at Villa Park.
Slot: No nerves for Liverpool
Arne Slot has dismissed claims Liverpool are feeling the pressure of the title race as the bid to hold off Arsenal and lift their first Premier League crown since 2020.
The Reds are favourites to become champions as Arsenal struggle with injuries and a fair way behind them, while holders Manchester City are 12 points behind them and firmly out of sight.
But Liverpool face a tough game at Villa Park this week and will know that a shock defeat, followed by an Arsenal win on the weekend, could make things interesting as we approach the climax of the season.
Slot, however, has rejected claims Liverpool are nervy in the race for the title and said the team have showed they can deal with pressure all season long.
“I think it is [being described as nervy] because we are coming towards the end of season, and not because of us but because of what people make of it,” Slot explained before Wednesday’s clash with Aston Villa.
“We’ve played more games away from home where we have won by one goal. I remember Palace away when Jaros had to make a big save. We didn’t need the big save against Wolves but people are talking about nerves.
“When you are only leading by one goal it’s going to need a lot of defending and hard work. A lot of people talk about nerves at this stage of the season. Not me.”
Liverpool urged to sell Salah
Mohamed Salah looks no closer to agreeing new terms at Liverpool with just four months until he becomes a free agent.
Salah continues to enjoy a magnificent season after netting 28 times in 36 games, a key part of Liverpool’s title challenge, but the Egyptian looks like to leave in the summer – with the Saudi Pro League the most likely destination.
There have been some signs that the 32-year-old could stay at Anfield after all after his agent recently praised the work of Arne Slot, but now a leading sports lawyer has told Liverpool they might be better off letting the star forward leave.
Daniel Geey, who’s a partner in the Sport Group at Sheridans law firm says there is a “cynical” view that players actually underperform in the years after renewing their deals – so he wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool decided to let Salah’s deal expire.
“Liverpool have been paying these three players at an undervalue for the last 18 months or so,” he told Reds icon Jamie Carragher on The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet (via the Liverpool Echo). “Whatever Salah was worth three years ago, he might be worth a lot more now in terms of his performance levels.
“And then there’s another, more cynical view. There’s a lot of data research suggesting players looking to renew their deals actually overperform in the season of the renewal and massively underperform in the couple of seasons after that renewal.
“So I wouldn’t put it past them at all for [chief executive Michael] Edwards, [sporting director Richard] Hughes and [technical director Julian] Ward to be playing an absolute blinder. It’ll all be determined at the end of the season if they play well or not and win the league and Champions League.”
Aldridge slams Nunez
It’s fair to say Darwin Nunez hasn’t enjoyed the best of times for Liverpool in recent weeks after going seven games without a goal.
Things looked to be turning around for the Uruguayan after he netted a late brace to seal a valuable 2-0 win over Brentford last month. But since then he’s only started two matches in cup competitions, and has had to settle for appearances off the bench in the Premier League.
He featured for 26 minutes off the bench in the 2-1 win over Wolves on Sunday and struggled to get into the game, and club legend John Aldridge wasn’t happy with the player’s attitude after he came on.
The former striker, who played 104 times for the Reds between 1986 and 1989, told the Liverpool Echo: “When Darwin Nunez came on, I watched him and I didn’t really see him sprint once. I was so disappointed with him.
“If he doesn’t do his work-rate, that’s what he normally gives us. He normally offers work-rate and goes about upsetting people, but he didn’t really do any of those things.
“I swear, I watched him and he was just going through the motions. Now if you’re coming on as a Liverpool player for the last half-hour, you have to show the manager, the team and the fans what it means to you. That you actually want your place.
“But it looked like he had a cob on, maybe because he didn’t start the game. He was holding no balls up for us so the balls were coming back into midfield, back on top of us, and we lost out. I was completely gobsmacked. What he offered when he came on, his performance was not acceptable. In my opinion as a centre-forward, he made it harder for Liverpool by not getting involved.”
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