EPL and Champions League
Aston Villa v Liverpool
Villa Park
Sunday, 18 March
Kick-off: 1335 GMT ( Asia : 2135)
REFEREE
Mark Halsey (Lancashire)
ASTON VILLA face Champions League chasing Liverpool with just two wins in 18 League and Cup matches over four months, and are putting in their worst ever performance in a Premier League season.
Martin O'Neill's side were third in mid-November, and were in freefall until mid January when two victories in three outings, home to Watford and West Ham, stemmed the tide. Since then, they've managed one point from a possible nine, and receive the Merseysiders on the back of Wednesday's 0-1 defeat to Arsenal - their first home game in nearly six weeks.
Villa have lost twice as many Premiership matches against Liverpool as they have won (lost 16, won eight). The Midlanders have not defeated the Reds since a 1-3 triumph at Anfield on 8 September 2001, and have not beaten them on home turf since prevailing 2-1 on 28 February 1998 when Stan Collymore scored a brace.
LIVERPOOL travel on the back of two 0-1 home defeats to Manchester United in the Premiership, and Barcelona in the Champions League, although the latter still saw the Merseysiders through to the quarter-finals. Dropped points has now probably given the Reds too much to do to catch Chelsea in second, but with a six point advantage over fifth placed Bolton, their place in the qualifying round for next seasons Champions League is assured, barring a total collapse.
Rafa Benitez has witnessed 10 victories in 14 Premiership games from his club. They've won twice as many League games as they've lost (won 16, lost eight), recording five victories from the last seven on the road.
The Merseysiders are unbeaten in 10 Premiership matches against Villa, and have won the last four against them. They made sure of the points in this season's reverse fixture with a three goal burst in a devastating final 15 minutes of the first half to inflict a first defeat on Villa since Martin O'Neill took over. Now they're looking to 'double' Villa for the second successive season, and fourth time in the Premiership.
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool
5 November 2005 - Ref: Steve Bennett
Liverpool scorers: Gerrard 85 pen, Alonso 89
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Liverpool 3-1 Aston Villa
28 October 2006 - Ref: Steve Bennett
Liverpool scorers: Kuyt 31, Crouch 38, Luis Garcia 44
Villa scorers: Agbonlahor 56
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Home and away
League: A Villa 51 wins, Liverpool 77, Draws 35
Prem: A Villa 8 wins, Liverpool 16, Draws 5
at Villa only
League: A Villa 37 wins, Liverpool 25, Draws 19
Prem: A Villa 5 wins, Liverpool 6, Draws 3
[ Champions League Fixtures ]
The last-eight first legs will be played on April 3 and 4 and the return matches on April 10 and 11. Semi-finals will be played on April 24 and 25 and the second legs on May 1 and 2.
Quater-final
Tuesday, April 3
AC Milan v Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven v Liverpool
Wednesday, April 4
AS Roma v Manchester United
Chelsea v Valencia
Tuesday, April 10
Manchester United v AS Roma
Valencia v Chelsea
Wednesday, April 11
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
Liverpool v PSV Eindhoven
Semi-finals
Tuesday, April 24
AS Roma/Manchester United v AC Milan/Bayern Munich
Wednesday, April 25
Chelsea/Valencia v PSV Eindhoven/Liverpool
Tuesday, May 1
PSV Eindhoven/Liverpool v Chelsea/Valencia
Wednesday, May 2
AC Milan/Bayern Munich v AS Roma/Manchester United
So, if you look at the draw, how you feel about this draw is it you like it when Liverpool have been draw with PSV Eindhoven? How you rate about our beloved club chances to win the CL for 6th time?
[ News ]
Real not the deal for Rafa
- Actually this rumours always come out when Real Madrid have a bad week. I think Capello still incharge for at least next season.
New owners want 76,000 capacity
- I think better we build a bigger from we have plan before. Because if we want to match MU and Arsenal, first we need to make our pitch more bigger and may be biggest in England.
No comments:
Post a Comment