Its FA Cup semi final weekend and the most attractive of the two ties is the meeting between Aston Villa and Liverpool which takes place at Wembley on Sunday.
Aston Villa
Current League Position 15th (as of 15th April)
Last Six Results W3 D1 L2 (any competition)
FA Cup Run
3rd Round Villa 1-0 Blackpool
4th Round Villa 2-1 Bournemouth
5th Round Villa 2-1 Leicester
6th Round Villa 2-0 West Brom
Putting the FA Cup to one side, Villa have been more concerned with avoiding relegation but there has been improvement since Tim Sherwood took over and whilst they are not safe just yet, their relegation fears have eased. An excellent 1-0 win at Spurs in the league last weekend means Villa have a six point cushion over the teams in the drop zone and that should be enough for them to focus every available resource on this cup semi final. Villa have benefitted from being drawn at home in all the earlier rounds, beating two sides from the Championship and two from the Premier League on their route to the semi finals.
Liverpool
Current League Position 5th (as of 15th April)
Last Six Results W3 D1 L2 (any competition)
FA Cup Run
3rd Round Wimbledon 1-2 Liverpool
4th Round Liverpool 0-0 Bolton
4th Round Replay Bolton 1-2 Liverpool
5th Round Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
6th Round Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn
6th Round Replay Blackburn 0-1 Liverpool
The FA Cup is Liverpool’s only remaining chance of winning a trophy this season although they haven’t yet given up on finishing in the top four of the Premier League which would be enough to qualify for next season’s Uefa Champions League competition. In the FA Cup, Liverpool have met Premier League opposition just once, a 2-1 win at Palace in the fifth round. That aside they have been made to work hard by lower league opposition, edging past League 2 side Wimbledon in the third round and replays were needed to see off Championship teams Bolton and Blackburn. Liverpool have already missed out in one semi final this season, losing to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup over two legs.
Overall Head to Head Record
Villa Wins 49
Draws 36
Liverpool Wins 81
Last time they met
17/01/15 EPL Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool
Liverpool Scorers: Borini (24) Lambert (79)
Half time: 0-1
Previous Five Head to Heads Results
13/09/14 EPL Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa
18/01/14 EPL Liverpool 2-2 Aston Villa
24/08/13 EPL Aston Villa 0-1 Liverpool
31/03/13 EPL Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
15/12/12 EPL Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa
Match Result Betting
Aston Villa 5.00
Draw 4.00
Liverpool 1.60
*Odds are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.