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Mo Salah targets revenge as Liverpool host Aston Villa

Liverpool suffered their heaviest defeat in 57 years when they last met Aston Villa, and Salah will be hoping his side can get revenge when these two meet again at Anfield this week.

After an impressive 3-0 win against Arsenal last weekend, Liverpool struggled to match that performance in the Champions League mid-week where they lost 3-1 away to Real Madrid - Salah scoring his sides only goal.

With the second leg of that tie being played next Wednesday, Liverpool first must turn their focus to Aston Villa this weekend. 

Liverpool are seventh and with just eight games remaining, the match against Villa will be seen as a must-win if they are to keep the pressure on that top four spot.

Tip of the fixture

With this game being so important for Liverpool in their pursuit of the top four and their last league meeting consisting of so many goals, Skybet are offering decent odds of 5/2 for Liverpool to win and both teams to score.

Stat attack

Earlier this season, Liverpool suffered their heaviest defeat since 1963 when Aston Villa beat them 7-2 at Villa Park.

This loss was also the heaviest defeat Jurgen Klopp has suffered in his entire managerial career.

Can Mo Salah help Liverpool in their quest for the top four?

Mo Salah has faced this weekends opponents four times in his career, and has scored three goals in that time.

Here, we take a closer look at the three Premier League fixtures in which Salah has played against the Villains. 

Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool (Villa Park - November 2, 2019)

Two late goals secured three points for Liverpool at Villa Park last season - however both goals came after Salah had been substituted following a disappointing performance.

Villa took the lead after 20 minutes through Trezeguet and had better chances than their opponents throughout the first half.

Salah had one volleyed effort well-saved by goalkeeper Tom Heaton, but other than that was unusually quiet in Liverpool's attack.

After 65 minutes Klopp made the decision to take off Salah for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and moved Sadio Mane onto the right wing where the Egyptian had been playing.

The swap proved vital for Liverpool as Mane assisted Andy Robertson from the right hand side after 87 minutes, and then grabbed the winner himself four minutes into added time.

Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa (Anfield - July 5, 2020)

Despite already being crowned champions, Liverpool were still dominant in a 2-0 victory against Villa the last time these two met at Anfield in the Premier League.
Salah was much more influential in this match, and appealed for a penalty early on after falling to the ground following pressure from Douglas Luiz. Referee Paul Tierney waved his arms to say no penalty, and the winger received a lot of criticism on social media for diving.

Despite a number of attempts at goal, Salah couldn't find the back of the net on this occasion and it came down to Mane to open the scoring after 71 minutes.

With seconds left of normal time, Salah did claim an assist as he headed back to Curtis Jones who first-time struck the ball past former Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina.

Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool (Villa Park - October 4, 2020)

It was a match to forget for Klopp's men when these two met earlier in the season, despite Salah bagging a brace for himself.
By the 22nd minute Villa were two goals up thanks to Ollie Watkins, but ten minutes later Salah had pulled one back for his side. As the ball bounced about inside the box, Salah first-time fired into the back of the net with his left foot, leaving Emiliano Martinez no chance of saving.
On the hour mark Villa had three more and the game was all but over, yet Salah still got his second of the game as he controlled a pass from Firmino before neatly slotting the ball into the bottom right corner.

Jack Grealish got Villa's sixth and seventh of the game, handing Liverpool their heaviest defeat since they lost by the same score line to Tottenham Hotspur 57 years ago.

It could be argued that in this game Salah was Liverpool's best player, however this statement should be taken with the context of how poorly his side performed.
Salah's side will be hoping history will not repeat itself this time round, as the highly-competitive race for the top four heats up.

READ MORE: West Ham know how to keep Vardy quiet but can they do it again this weekend?

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