Aston Villa head to Liverpool on Saturday still very much in with a shout of finishing in the Premier League’s top six.
The second half of this season has seen Unai Emery, counterpart of Jurgen Klopp oversee a transformation at Aston Villa that has left Klopp speechless. As a result, Klopp has put his Liverpool team on high alert for the Lions’ weekend visit to Anfield.
In their final home game of the season on Merseyside, Liverpool will host Villa on Saturday. Under Klopp’s leadership, Liverpool has won seven straight league games after defeating struggling Leicester City on Monday night to keep pressure on Manchester United and Newcastle United for a Champions League spot.
While highlighting the challenge he expects for his players to face Emery’s team, Klopp acknowledged that Villa are still very much in the running for a top-six spot. After suffering disappointing consecutive away losses to Manchester United and Wolves, Emery’s team recovered at home to continue their stellar B6 record when defeating Tottenham last weekend.
In addition to praising Liverpool’s upcoming opponents, Klopp praised Emery, who took over for Reds legend Steven Gerrard as the club’s manager in November and has won 14 of his 25 games so far. Emery has transformed Villa from relegation candidates to European contenders in just six months.
Following their victory on Monday, Klopp stated, “Now, we have two more games left. Difficult games. Aston Villa… dear God. It will be challenging because they play fantastically in the second half of the season and compete for Europe as well. At Aston Villa, Unai is performing admirably. We must make sure we are prepared.”
