Liverpool v Aston Villa: Premier League – live | Premier League

Slot also goes some way to explaining why Liverpool have been slow starters in most matches this season, picking up speed significantly in the second half. “There are many things we can do better … the threshold is quite high for us … I see that certain things are done better by other teams than us … you wonder which ones? … that’s what we talk about during the week … hopefully we keep improving … it’s necessary in a difficult league like this … Xabi Alonso has played the same style for one, two years I think … he came here playing Boniface as a left winger … that is a compliment to our players … every team that comes here feels they need a special plan … the good thing for us is that’s mostly the first time they play it, so you could argue it’s not an advantage for them to do that … but they feel it’s an advantage … in the first half we have to adjust a bit … then it’s a disadvantage for us that we have only worked together for three or four months, because if you work with a team for three or four years, you’ve faced every system … everyone just knows what to do … sometimes now we need half-time for that … but it’s a matter of time before we’re adjusting faster than that.”

Arne Slot speaks to TNT Sports. “Everyone has mainly focused on our results, which have been good … you also enjoy your time if you work with people that you really like and the staff and everybody at Liverpool welcomed me and my staff a lot … if you then also have the results then you enjoy your time at the club … I expected Luis Diaz to do well but to do so well was even for me a bit of a surprise … if you have four attackers like we have, you are always a bit tempted, who should you play? … Cody has played so many games that we thought these three should be the best pick … we will know after the game if that was the right choice to make … in every decision a lot goes into it … confidence … how much they have played recently … this is now the second time Curtis has been lined up … Macca had some rest in the League Cup game … Szoboszlai would have been a good pick as well … ideally we will start the game like we end it … but that is easier said than done … our opponent is also really fresh when the game starts.”

Liverpool make two changes to their starting XI from the 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. Darwin Núñez and Andrew Robertson replace Cody Gakpo and Kostas Tsimikas.

Aston Villa make four changes after their 1-0 defeat at Club Brugge on Wednesday. Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey come in for Ian Maatsen, Boubacar Kamara, the unfortunate Tyrone Mings, and captain John McGinn.

The teams

Preamble