Aston Villa v Liverpool team news

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith remains hopeful Jack Grealish will be fit for Saturday’s home clash with Liverpool. Villa skipper Grealish has been struggling with a calf injury he sustained in last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City and sat out the midweek win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup as a result.
The midfielder was also expected to be ruled out for the visit of the Reds on Saturday but boss Smith revealed in his pre-match press conference that Grealish would be given a late fitness test and could yet play.
The Midlanders will definitely be without Jota and Keinan Davis for the tough battle against the Premier League leaders although playmaker Jota is set to return to training on Monday after recovering from a hernia operation. Striker Davis, however, is likely to be out for around a month after a scan confirmed a hamstring strain.
Liverpool are without centre-back Joel Matip for the trip to Villa Park, with boss Jurgen Klopp saying the defender will be unavailable for the “next few weeks” due to an ongoing knee injury, while midfielder Naby Keita will be assessed after he picked up a knock in the Carabao Cup win on penalties over Arsenal on Wednesday.
Klopp made 11 changes for the dramatic 5-5 draw with the Gunners but will revert back to his regular Premier League line-up as the Reds look to stay at least six points clear at the top with another victory.
That means goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk will all come back in, along with the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in midfield and Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino up front.
Villa and Liverpool have also been drawn together in the last eight of the League Cup although a date has yet to be found for the tie due to the Reds’ involvement in the Club World Cup next month.