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Liverpool certainly did not find their form today as Villa dominated the game for long periods and should have made more of the chances that came their way late on.
Jamie Carragher to the rescue for Liverpool! Barry bends a corner in and Skrtel's header is goalbound but Carragher saves his team-mate by hacking it off the line.
Liverpool have scored a lot of late goals recently but it is Villa doing the pressing at the moment.
Laursen is the latest to go within inches of a winner as he beats everyone to Young's deep cross only to see his looping header drift over Reina but wide of the post.
Villa are coming forward in numbers now and Reo-Coker beats Aurelio and Dossena and fires a dangerous ball across but it is just a fraction away from Agbonlahor's toe and Reina again collects.
James Milner almost makes the perfect second impression as the ball rolls his way on the edge of the box and he bends it towrds the top corner but Reina plucks it away.
The remaining minutes could be interesting as both sides look as if they want to try and win this game now, but can either manage it?
Villa also make a change as Nicky Shorey is replaced by Craig Gardner - moving Gareth Barry into the left back spot for the rest of the game.
Yet again Robbie Keane fails to see out the game as he is replaced by Yossi Benayoun.
Liverpool are the ones applying the pressure a little more at the moment and Dossena is starting to find some room on the left hand side to get some crosses in from the byline.
Robbie Keane should have his first Liverpool goal but he doesn't because of Nigel Reo-Coker. The Irishman is clean through but the former West Ham man comes flying across to make a decisive tackle.
Petrov tries to spark the crowd into ction with an ambitious volley from distance and although it goes a little wide - it has done the trick.
Dirk Kuyt exits the field of play now and is replaced by full-back Fabio Aurelio for the last twenty minutes.
It has all got a little scrappy again in the last few minutes here with neither side keeping the ball remotely well.
Andreas Dossena picks up a yellow card for throwing the ball away in frustration - although he was correct, it should have been a Liverpool throw.
An attacking change from O'Neill as Luke Young exits and James Milner is welcomed with a raucous reception - Reo-Coker moves to right back.
What a ball from Young and what a miss from Davies! Young curls it with venom to the far post and Curtis Davies arrives but mistimes his header terribly and ends up directing it away from an empty net.
With the game opening up as it is at the moment I can't imagine it being too long before Messrs Milner and Babel are thrown on in the wide areas.
Skrtel is still running a very tight rope and he almost falls off there as Agbonlahor turns him with ease and is hauled down by the big centre-back.
What Liverpool are doing for the most part so far is starving Ashley Young and Agbonlahor of the service they crave in behind the defenders - and that is largely nullifying Villa's attacking threat.
The game is starting to open up now at last and Alonso would have opened the scoring there but for a timely block from Nicky Shorey who glances it a fraction over.
Carew is winning every ball launched towards the penalty area today and he forces a corner - and from the corner he wins another header against Skrtel but it goes over the bar.
Another chance for Kuyt from an Alonso corner but he misses out again. Friedel half came for the ball but missed it and was lucky that Kuyt had overrrun it slightly and was unable to head goalwards.
The second period is underway and the home side are now attacking the Holte End.
Martin O'Neill will be disappointed his side haven't created more given the amount of possession they have enjoyed but Benitez's tactics have left a lot to be desired so far.
Mascherano goes from hero to villain in about ten seconds. He robs Young in a dangerous position brilliantly but having sprinted 60 yards fails to play a simple ball into the path of Kuyt and Laursen intercepts.
That is the real Robbie Keane! He finds himself central and plays a 'no-look pass' behind Laursen for N'Gog and the Frenchman almost finds the net.
Chance for Kuyt but he wastes it. Shorey makes a poor attempt to clear Keane's cross and it drops straight to the Dutchman who blazes into the side netting.
This has been a very strange half from the visitors. They are inviting Villa onto them but they do not appear to want to counter attack either and Villa are in total control.
Wonderful football from the hosts! Barry flicks a clever ball in behind the defence for Young, who cuts back to the onrushing Carew but the Norwegian fires straight at Reina. What a chance!
The Liverpool fans must be asking why Ryan Babel is not on the field. They are known to want wingers, he is a winger and Torres in injured but Benitez has left Keane wide instead. It seems strange, but could it work?
Another injury scare for Benitez then. With Gerrard already out, now Fernando Torres appears to have pulled a hamstring and David N'Gog is on.
A big worry for Liverpool, Torres is down and pulled up sharply as he chased Laursen down - and in fact he has now limped down the tunnel.
Width is definitely still a problem for Liverpool! Mascherano had possession in midfield and a massive gap appeared on the left flank but noone was willing to fill it and he is crowded out.
Gareth Barry gets himself a huge cheer from the crowd with some good and skillful defending against Mascherano in the corner - bridges are being built you feel.
No chances really for either side in the opening 20minutes of the match with Carew's flick almost setting Agbonlahor free the closest we have come so far to an opportunity.
For the first time in the game Liverpool manage to get meaningful possession of the ball in the Villa half but they are unable to do anything with it and Reo-Coker eventually robs Mascherano.
Martin Skrtel has been booked for dissent after a blatant tug and foul on Carew needlessly on halfway - he looks a little uneasy and Villa might try and exploit that.
A let-off for Reina as he lofts a pass towards Arbeloa but Carew has read his mind, unfortunately for the Villains he fails to control and Reina escapes.
When up against the 'Big Four' many sides look uncomfortable in possession but Villa are a side that don't tend to struggle with that all too often and with Barry and Petrov in the middle they are keeping it nicely.
Early encouragement for Gabby Agbonlahor as Skrtel fails almost catastrophically to deal with his pace but Carragher covers across to concede just a corner.
Nothing too great from either side in the opening few minutes as they feel each other out a little - while Robbie Keane seems to be playing a left wing role today.
An early point that is not particularly to do with the football is that Liverpool's kit today is nothing short of horrendous, Villa are in their usual claret and blue.
Martin Atkinson is today's official in the Second City, as Villa and Liverpool play out the final fixture before the international break. and he gets things underway.
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Dossena, Kuyt, Alonso, Mascherano, Lucas, Keane, Torres
Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke Young, Laursen, Davies, Shorey, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, Ashley Young, Carew, Agbonlahor
Oh and did anyone hear that Liverpool wanted Gareth Barry this summer? I thought so. Well he starts this afternoon, for Aston Villa, and what are the odds that he has an important role in who wins this game?
Liverpool have looked unimpressive so far and, in all honesty, should have been beaten in the Champions league qualifier in midweek but they have battled through every game to victory this season - although Steven Gerrard's absence could be important
Villa have added to their ever increasing collection of young English talent with the capture of £12million James Milner although he will begin on the bench after his midweek efforts for Newcastle.
Welcome to Villa Park - home of Aston Villa - where Liverpool, now the only side with a 100% record this season, are the visitors.
Gareth Barry might well be counting his blessings that he has remained at Aston Villa following a negative Liverpool performance in a disappointing goalless game at Villa Park. Barry was certainly on the top of his form against the club who were not prepared to match Villa's £18million asking price throughout the summer. The England player, however, drifted out of the game as did many star names as the match failed to live up to expectations. The animosity between Villa boss Martin O'Neill and his counterpart Rafa Benitez over the Barry affair was evident, although the Irishman made a point of walking to the opposition dugout before the match to shake the hands of the Liverpool boss. Obviously much of the spotlight fell on Barry's performance with the England player showing rich talent which could easily have been utilised in the star-studded Liverpool side in which skipper Jamie Carragher was a stalwart. He was the midfield maestro as Villa's confident team more than matched the might of Liverpool, who obviously missed the influence of Steven Gerrard. O'Neill has stressed that it is his intention to encourage attacking football at every opportunity and this was the feature of the early play when Villa attempted to pressurise the visitors. Liverpool sat back to absorb the pressure with Javier Mascherano breaking up attacks and setting up some smart moves to remind Villa of the threat posed by snappy breaks. In this period, Villa's shaky defence, which is not noted as being particularly water-tight, was not exposed. Sadly Robbie Keane continued to fire blanks and has now gone five games without scoring since his expensive move from Tottenham to the Merseyside club. His best chance came in the 72nd minute following a long through ball from Mascherano, but he was foiled by a late tackle from Nigel Reo-Coker. There was a significant change in Liverpool's fortunes in the 28th minute when they lost the services of Fernando Torres with a hamstring injury. However, he had been very placid and unable to make an impact, which made Villa's task considerably easier than expected in the vital opening 30 minutes. The cat and mouse game was laced with good football from both teams with the best move coming in the 35th minute when Ashley Young set up Gabby Agbonlahor, who attempted to guide his shot home only to see the ball hit Pepe Reina and bounce clear. This was the first direct attempt on goal from either side and the pattern was quickly re-instated as both teams struggled to find a cutting edge. Liverpool's best chance was carved out by Keane when he set-up substitute David N'Gog, who watched his dipping shot skim the crossbar.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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