ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL — Liverpool’s hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League are hanging by a thread after victory for rivals Newcastle United in midweek.
But, even if the Reds cannot sneak into the top four across the next two games, there is clear value in rounding off the season with a nine-game winning streak.
That is the sort of run that can provide a perfect springboard into a new campaign that they hope will bring better fortune.
However, securing yet another three points against one of the division’s form teams in Aston Villa, who have enjoyed a remarkable uptick since Unai Emery’s appointment, will be not be easy.
Follow all the action from Anfield with The Sporting News’ live coverage below.
MORE: Updated Premier League table and the top-four chase
Liverpool vs. Aston Villa live score
| 2nd half | Goal scorers | |
| Liverpool | 1 | Firmino 89′ |
| Aston Villa | 1 | Ramsey 27′ |
Lineups:
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Henderson, Fabinho, Jones — Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
Aston Villa (4-5-1): Martinez (GK) — Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne — Bailey, McGinn, Luiz, Kamara Ramsey — Watkins
Liverpool vs. Aston Villa live updates, highlights
90th min: Ten minutes to be added on here and Anfield is absolutely rocking. They couldn’t, could they?
89th min: GOAL! Would you believe it, Roberto Firmino has his farewell goal!
It comes from a beauty of an outside-of-the-boot Salah ball from the right, that Firmino meets int he centre of the park and dispatches with customary ease. What a moment.
86th min: Villa now making changes of their own, with Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz heading off to be replaced by Leander Dendoncker and Jhon Duran.
Watkins has been impressive again for the visitors here.
81st min: Elliott on for Fabinho as Liverpool really go for it now. Can they find an equaliser?
77th min: Emi Martinez goes in the book for timewasting but he won’t mind one bit after taking a huge chunk out of the game this half.
73rd min: Here they come. Departing pair James Milner and Roberto Firmino enter the fray to huge cheers, and they are joined by Kostas Tsimikas as Liverpool make a triple change that sees Henderson, Diaz and Robertson leave the field.
65th min: Moreno can’t continue, Buendia will replace him.
63rd min: A change for Liverpool, with Curtis Jones making way and Diogo Jota entering the fray.
Meanwhile, Villa substitue Alex Moreno may well be heading off again having apparently pulled something while rather brilliantly preventing Van Dijk from getting a cross in moments ago.
55th min: Gakpo has the ball in the back of the net but it’s not going to count.
The Dutchman had finished after a goalmouth scramble but a lengthy VAR check that requires John Brooks to go to the screen follows and a decision of offside is ultimately given.
It’s not actually clear here in the press box, or indeed to any of the supporters, what exactly that was given for.
53rd min: Two changes for Villa, Young and Moreno replacing Bailey and Digne.
Fresh legs for the visitors, though they haven’t been particularly stretched at any point of this contest this far.
52nd min: McGinn lines one up from the edge of the box after good work from Watkins but Alisson gets down to save quite comfortably.
51st min: Mohamed Salah works half a yard to get a shot away in the box but it’s a tame one by his standards and Emi Martinez easily collects.
46th min: Liverpool get the game restarted.
HALF-TIME: The first half comes to an end and Aston Villa have a deserved one-goal advantage thanks to Jacob Ramsey’s well-taken goal. It could have been even better for the visitors, who also missed a penalty through Ollie Watkins early in the half.
45th min (+2): Another VAR check after Henderson goes to ground in the box but, while there’s some contact, there’s nowhere near worthy of the on-field decision of no penalty being overturned.
45th min: Mings goes into the book after catching Gakpo rather clumsily with a high boot around the chest area.
A brief VAR check for a possible red follows, but no further action is rightly taken.
43rd min: Liverpool now enjoying their first spell of systained pressure in the match but their main route to goal seems to be crosses and the Villa defence are first to everything.
Unai Emery will be delighted with how his team have played thus far.
38th min: Villa so, so close to a second!
Ramsey makes a late run in behind onto a free-kick that every Liverpool defender expects to be thrown into the mixer but is denied a second goal as Alisson pulls out a typically brilliant save .
27th min: GOAL! Aston Villa finally have the lead and it is a deserved one!
It comes from Jacob Ramsey, who ghosts in at the back post to meet a Douglas Luiz cross and sidefoot it home first time. A wonderful finish.
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Jacob Ramsey is there at the back post and Aston Villa lead!
As things stand, Liverpool will fail to qualify for Champions League.
📺: @peacock | #LIVAVL pic.twitter.com/cZweenXtMb— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) May 20, 2023
22nd min: PENALTY MISSED!
Watkins dusts himself down and looks to coolly pass the ball into Alisson’s bottom left-hand corner but makes a complete hash of it and instead puts it well wide of the Kop-end goal.
What a wasted opportunity for the visitors.
20th min: PENALTY TO ASTON VILLA!
Villa work it brilliantly to give McGinn the space for a first-time pass in behind and Konate clumsily trips Watkins in a desperate attempt to get back to give up the spot-kick.
No doubts over whether VAR will overturn that – it’s a stonewaller.
14th min: This has descended into caginess rather quickly, with an engrossing physical battle ensuing in the centre of the park and setting the tone for the game as a whole.
5th min: A break in play after Liverpool whip a freekick into the box as both Ollie Watkins and Virgil van Dijk require treatment as a result of a clash of heads.
That looked painful.
KICK-OFF: Under way at Anfield and the home crowd are straight into Roberto Firmino’s song. We’ll be hearing a lot of that today.
10 mins from kickoff: Here come the players to a warm reception. Can either of these two sides provide a boost to their European hopes with a win, or will we see a draw that in truth suits neither?
30 mins from kickoff: James Milner and Roberto Firmino get a warm welcome from all four sides of the ground as they emerge for their warm-ups. It must be such an odd feeling for both men to be saying goodbye after so long at the same club.
1 hr from kickoff: The team news is in! Roberto Firmino will get his chance at a final Anfield appearance after being passed fit to take a place on the bench.
1.5 hrs from kickoff: The Liverpool squad will get a 90-minute break from being shouted at for not tracking back today with Jurgen Klopp serving a touchline ban for this game. The German has been censured by the FA for his comments on referee Paul Tierney following a dramatic 4-3 win over Tottenham here.
2 hrs from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Liverpool vs. Aston Villa in the Premier League. Not only is this a big day in terms of both sides’ European aspirations next term, it is sure to be an emotional send-off for Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, who will play their final Anfield games before departing on free transfers.
Perfect weather for the final home game of the season and some emotional Anfield farewells @sn_footballclub pic.twitter.com/DYonCuolVS
— David Lynch (@dmlynch) May 20, 2023
Liverpool vs Aston Villa lineups, team news
Jurgen Klopp perhaps unsurprisingly has stuck with the same starting XI that demolished Leicester City last time out.
There is a place on the bench for the fit-again Roberto Firmino as well as James Milner as they say farewell to Anfield, but Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both miss out.
Liverpool lineup (4-3-3): Alisson (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Henderson, Fabinho, Jones — Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Milner, Firmino, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Carvalho, Matip.
Unai Emery has opted to make three changes to the team that beat Tottenham last time out, with Matty Cash and Lucas Digne coming in on either side of defence.
The Spaniard has also added heft to his midfield in replacing playmaker Emi Buendia with Boubacar Kamara.
Aston Villa lineup (4-5-1): Martinez (GK) — Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne — Bailey, McGinn, Luiz, Kamara Ramsey — Watkins
Subs: Olsen, Sinisalo, Traore, Buendia, Alex Moreno, A.Young, Duran, Dendoncker.
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with Fubo in Canada
What time does Liverpool vs Aston Villa kick off?
This Premier League match at Anfield kicks off on Saturday, May 20 at 3 p.m. BST.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Sat, May. 20 | 10 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Sat, May. 20 | 10 a.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, May. 20 | 3 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Sun, May. 21 | 12 a.m. AEST |
| India | Sat, May. 20 | 7 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Sat, May. 20 | 10 p.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Sat, May. 20 | 10 p.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Sat, May. 20 | 10 p.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Sun, May. 21 | 2 a.m. NZST |
Liverpool vs Aston Villa live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Fubo, Peacock |
| Canada | — | Fubo |
| UK | — | — |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 6 NZ | Sky Sport NOW, Sky Go NZ |
| India | — | Hotstar VIP, JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Now Premier League (Ch. 622) |
Now E, Now Player |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport 3 | Astro Go, sooka |
| Singapore | — | StarHub TV+ |
UK: The match will not be broadcast live in the UK due to the Saturday 3 p.m. kickoff broadcast embargo.
USA: This match will be streamed via Peacock, with additional streaming options available on Fubo, available to new users on a free trial.
Canada: Every Premier League game streams live in Canada on Fubo.
Australia: Optus Sport is the exclusive broadcaster of Premier League football in Australia with live and on-demand coverage.
