Premier League live: updates of Aston Villa v Liverpool

Watkins beats the visitors' offside trap and forces a great save out of Alisson. Villa keep the ball alive and after the keeper parries Douglas Luiz's header, the Villa man is on hand to tuck in the rebound. Liverpool's defence was all at sea there!

In the Premier League era, Liverpool have won 30 meetings, Villa have triumphed on 13 occasions with 10 matches drawn.

At Villa Park the hosts have won seven, drawn five and lost 14.

Liverpool get us underway.

Liverpool will be hoping for a much better result than on their last league visit to Villa Park.

Even if Villa pick up a win, it's unlikely to be anything like the 7-2 triumph which was the Reds' heaviest defeat since 1963.

It will be [a] very, very tough game. It will be [a] very intense game but, for me, we have to be us - to be exactly how we want to play. We have to be focused 100 per cent, we want to win and we will go for it. This is our mentality. This is in the goals we set from the start of the season and we will go for it."

Take it with a pinch of salt, especially as the reports are emanating from Spain, but could Sadio Mane be tempted by a move away from Anfield?

Read more in the story below.

“We need a big win, and it would be a big, big win to beat one of the best teams in Europe right now. After this season, where we’ve had a couple of four or five-game losing streaks, we deserve a big win, and hopefully it can be (tonight).”

“It would be a satisfactory end to the season considering where we were when we took the job – 16th in the league and a couple of points above relegation. The first remit was to move the team into a safe place, first and foremost. Now we’re in a place with four games left where there’s a possibility to finish in the top ten and I think that would be a huge positive considering the club hasn’t done it for a decade. That would give us a positive base to go and have a real strong pre-season from.”

"I don't know which situation Pep was in. Getting knocked out of the Champions League is difficult enough to take. But then Liverpool made it to the final. You say what you say. I have no idea if the country is supporting us. It is not the feeling I get when we go to other places, it's actually the opposite.”

Steven Gerrard makes a couple of alterations to his line up following the win over Burnley.

Former Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho comes into take on his old team while Marvelous Nakamba also features in the starting XI.

Jurgen Klopp makes five changes from the draw at home to Spurs with the FA Cup final no doubt playing a part in his selection.

Mohamed Salah will start with the subs as Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Kostas Tsimikas and Joel Matip all get the nod from the off.

STARTING XIs – ASTON VILLA: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Luiz, McGinn, Nakamba; Coutinho; Ings, Watkins… /// LIVERPOOL: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Jones, Keita; Diaz, Jota, Mane.

Hello and welcome to live updates of the Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park. Steven Gerrard pits his Villans against his former club who can’t afford any slip up after losing ground in the title race at the weekend. Kick off 20.00 BST.