Aston Villa travel to Liverpool on Saturday night aiming to stop their recent slump in form.
The Villans are winless in their previous four matches in all competitions, including a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last time out in the Premier League.
Unai Emery’s men are still knocking on the door of the Champions League spots, despite the previous two matches, as Aston Villa currently sit level on points with fourth place.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 |  ArsenalArsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
| 7 |  TottenhamTottenham | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
That said, Emery’s men must be at their best to take any points off Liverpool this weekend, who currently sit top of the table after losing just one of their first 10 matches.
Ahead of the clash at Anfield, Arne Slot has commented on Emery’s playing style, while the Spaniard has also issued a challenge to his Villa squad.
Unai Emery issues key challenge to Aston Villa squad vs Liverpool
Aston Villa are winless in their previous eight matches against Liverpool, last beating them in the infamous 7-2 victory at Villa Park in October 2020.
Meanwhile, the most recent time they won at Anfield was in September 2014 when Gabby Agbonlahor scored the winning goal.
It’s been an unhappy hunting ground for the Birmingham outfit but Emery refuses to let history dictate their chances of winning on Saturday.
Addressing the media ahead of the clash, Emery has challenged his Villa first-team squad to match their opponent’s levels and show why they belong near the top.
“After last year, we were a surprise when we were getting the fourth position,” the Spaniard told Villa’s official website.
“This year, we lost last week against Tottenham and for them it was a very special moment against us because they knew we were in front of them.
“We are a competitive team to be in the top seven, top five, top four. They were celebrating the three points last week like they deserved.
“Tomorrow we are going to play against Liverpool and in two years we are competing well against them, but they are always in front of us. The idea is to see how our level is compared to them and see our capacity to face them.”
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What Emery is doing to prepare for Liverpool
Liverpool have been transformed into a team that are defensively solid under Slot, with the Reds conceding the least xG in the Premier League this term (9.16) and the fewest goals (6), as per Understat.
Villa, meanwhile, have been less than secure in defence, shipping 15 goals in their first 10 matches while facing an xG of 13.72.
Emery’s men were trounced by Tottenham in the second half on Sunday and opening up like they did in that game could see them get punished emphatically.
Now, speaking ahead of the clash, he’s spoken about how his side are preparing for it while highlighting what a ‘huge challenge’ it is.
“Tomorrow is a really huge challenge for us to stop them, to play with personality,” Emery added.
“We are analysing and building the team but of course we have to compete if we want to get the level we had last year.
“We are more or less keeping it but we have to be stronger in some circumstances, in everything: tactically, mentally, emotionally. We are building the team with different players and building our structure. We are in this process.”
