Source: Telegraph
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez confident of victory against Aston Villa
A hat-trick from Steven Gerrard and goals from Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera were enough to destroy Martin O'Neill's side in March, firing Liverpool back into the thick of the title battle and all but condemning Villa to another season outside of the lucrative Champions League places.
While Benitez admits it was one of the finest performances he has seen in his five years at Anfield, even in the absence of Xabi Alonso, sold to Real Madrid for £30 million, and his replacement, the injured Alberto Aquilani, the Liverpool manager feels his team are capable of not only matching, but surpassing the standards they set that day.
"We have played some very good games," he said. "Villa last season was very good, scoring five goals and keeping a clean sheet, with a high tempo and lots of pressing. But I would like to play a little bit better. We were in a very good moment when we beat them and, while I am not saying this to be arrogant, but I think we can improve on that game.
"For tonight, it depends on the players, if from the beginning they can play with a high tempo. But we need to remember that Aston Villa are a very good team who play on the counter attack.
Benitez is likely to recall Martin Skrtel, who missed the 4-0 victory over Stoke with a jaw injury, in favour of the youngster Daniel Ayala. Sotiris Kyrgiakos, his new £1.5 million signing from AEK Athens, is not likely to feature after meeting his team-mates for the first time as recently as Friday. Fernando Torres and Jamie Carragher should both be fit despite both suffering head injuries in Liverpool's opening two games of the nascent campaign.
