Liverpool faces Aston Villa on Sunday, taking on an emerging side following some positive signings in the summer transfer window. The Reds drew 1-1 last time around with Unai Emery’s men, but having made a number of improvements themselves in the center of the pitch, the higher level of quality in the match will be clear.
One of Villa’s recent signings is a player who was previously considered as a potential future replacement for Mohamed Salah. Moussa Diaby had a bright scoring record when playing in Germany for Bayer Leverkusen — with form that he continued under former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso. He will be one to watch on Sunday afternoon.
The Frenchman has adapted quickly to life in the Premier League, having already two goals while registering another assist in three matches. One of those came against Newcastle on the opening day, a match in which the Villains have put behind them after a 5-1 defeat.
Of course, many could argue that their recent fixtures have been much easier, but with the addition of Pau Torres from Villarreal — another player considered by Liverpool and other top clubs — there are signs that the West Midlands club is beginning to evolve under the hands of an experienced manager.
Jürgen Klopp has won six of the nine meetings against Emery, whose only win against the German manager came in the Europa League final in 2016 with a comeback 3-1 victory that canceled out Daniel Sturridge’s outside-of-the-foot effort. Since then, Emery hasn’t managed a win against Klopp during spells at three different clubs.
Dangerously, though, a draw would see Liverpool fall another two points behind Manchester City. A frustrating match last time out saw a high foot on Cody Gakpo go unpunished, though Darwin Núñez’s performance against Newcastle last week could see the Uruguayan lead the line this time around.
Villa has also had less time to prepare, having completed a convincing 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian on Thursday, though that clash has allowed Ollie Watkins to develop scoring form.
Diaby, deployed in a more central role so far, is likely to attack Liverpool’s secondary center-back pairing of Joël Matip and Joe Gomez directly. That could also see the role of Wataru Endō become more important, in a game where he will be hopeful of finishing in an 11 v 11 format for the first time.
Interestingly, Liverpool scouts will find out more as to whether they got their decision right to not make an approach for Villa’s new star. The Guardian reports that he was acquired for a fee of $65m (£52m/€60m), a figure comfortably more than the Reds’ outlay for Salah in 2017.
But at a time when there are few options for left-footed right-wingers with a high attacking output, Diaby’s transfer could be seen as a bargain by the end of his contract — particularly if he helps guide Aston Villa to a consecutive European finish this season.
In a scouting match at Anfield on Sunday, Klopp will be keeping an eye on Diaby as a consideration for Salah’s future successor, especially with clubs in the Saudi Pro League likely to return to the negotiating table for the Egyptian in January.
