"Toughest test yet" - Interesting scoreline predicted by Joleon Lescott for Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Former Everton and Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott predicts a routine win for Liverpool against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday (December 26). The Englishman predicts Jurgen Klopp's side to come away with a 2-0 win at Villa Park on Boxing Day.
This is despite the fact that the Reds have been in sloppy form while Villa have won two consecutive games under the management of Unai Emery.
Whilst predicting the outcome for the game, Lescott also identified the areas that Klopp would hope to see improvements in. Writing in his column for LiveScore, Joleon Lescott was quoted as saying the following:
"Liverpool will have been disappointed with their season and I think more consistency will be the main thing Jurgen Klopp will be looking for now."
Despite the Reds' lack of consistency in the Premier League, Lescott still believes they will have enough quality to secure three points against Villa. The former England centre-back also rates the game against Liverpool as Unai Emery's hardest challenge since his return to English football. He added:
"Aston Villa won their first two league games under Unai Emery before the break but I think the Reds will prove the Spaniard’s toughest test yet. It's hard to predict anything other than an away win."
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Two consecutive wins in the Premier League prior to the World Cup break have seen Aston Villa climb up to 12th in the league standings. They have currently picked up 18 points from 15 games so far this season.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are sixth in the standings and only four points ahead of Villa. At the time of writing, the Premier League runners-up from last season are seven points away from the top-four places.
How did Liverpool fare against Aston Villa last season?
Liverpool had an excellent time against Aston Villa during the 2021-22 season in the Premier League. The Reds managed to do the double against the Birmingham-based outfit last time around.
The Reds secured a narrow 1-0 at Anfield with Mohamed Salah scoring the only goal of the game in the second half.
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Jurgen Klopp's side then went on to secure a 2-1 victory at Villa Park towards the end of the 2021-22 season. Joel Matip and Sadio Mane were the goalscorers on that occasion.
It is worth pointing out that Steven Gerrard was Aston Villa's manager last season. The former Reds skipper, however, was sacked by the club following a poor start to the 2022-23 season.