MatchAston Villa v Liverpool: Team news
Liverpool are set be without Cody Gakpo for the second-straight match when they head to Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
The Dutch forward is still dealing with the knock he sustained in last week's Merseyside derby and expected to sit out the Villa Park encounter, along with Joe Gomez.
Arne Slot told his pre-match press conference: "I think both are not available for tomorrow. Cody is close to being back and Joe will take quite a long time. He is going to be out for numerous weeks because of a hamstring injury."
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Watch on YouTubeTyler Morton (shoulder) is the only other player ruled out for the Reds, who welcome Curtis Jones back from a one-game suspension.
Gakpo's absence in the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out saw Diogo Jota make his first Premier League start since October.
Jota played more than an hour as Liverpool's central forward, with Luis Diaz moved into the left-winger role that Gakpo had regularly fulfilled previously.
On the No.20, Slot said: "He played 60 [minutes] and with a decent amount of games we play now, you don't expect him to play 90, 90, 90 in the upcoming three, but he will be involved in hopefully all three and hopefully with a lot of minutes as well."
Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah are both an appearance away from taking their totals for the club to 50.
Villa, meanwhile, will be without Boubacar Kamara – as well as Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Pau Torres – after the midfielder picked up a hamstring injury in their 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town last weekend.
Leon Bailey, Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa will continue to be assessed, with head coach Unai Emery saying on Tuesday afternoon: "Kamara is out, Bailey is close to being with us again. I don't know [for] tomorrow, he's a doubt.
"Cash as well is close to being with us, Konsa as well is close to being with us.
"We trained this morning but until tomorrow morning I'm not going to decide exactly how much they are ready to play or not or to be with us."
On the test awaiting his side, Emery stated: "Liverpool, they are the best team in the Premier League, they are the best team in Europe, and of course it will be very difficult.
"Our challenge tomorrow is how we can face them, how we can respond with our qualities against them, how we can play at this level, trying to get confidence for ourselves.
"But we are excited and hopefully we can share tomorrow our excited moments with our supporters at Villa Park."
Last match
Villa 1-1 Ipswich (February 15): Martinez, Garcia, Disasi, Kamara, Digne, McGinn, Tielemans, Malen, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins.
Liverpool 2-1 Wolves (February 16): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Salah, Jota, Diaz.
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