Tyrone Mings playing for Aston Villa looking towards a circle inset of Unai Emery looking annoyed
Credit: Imago
Cameron Smith
Wed 13 May 2026 8:10, UK
Aston Villa are aiming to return to winning ways in the Premier League on Friday as they take on Liverpool at Villa Park.
It has been a strange run for the Villans, who are winless in their last three league matches.
During that spell, Unai Emery‘s side suffered defeats to Fulham and Tottenham before drawing against Burnley on Sunday.
The Villans did, however, book their place in the Europa League final with a relentless 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park.
Looking to carry momentum into next week’s final against Freiburg, Villa face Liverpool in a clash between the sides in fourth and fifth.
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Unai Emery left with difficult decisions ahead of Liverpool clash
With the recent run in mind, Emery has been left with difficult decisions to make in regards to his team selection.
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With sixth-placed Bournemouth closing in on the top five, the Spaniard may not be able to rotate as he would like, as the soon-to-be dethroned champions travel to the Midlands.
Aston Villa’s last five matches Result
Burnley (A) 2-2 D
Nottingham Forest – Europa League (H) 4-0 W
Tottenham (H) 2-1 L
Nottingham Forest – Europa League (A) 1-0 L
Fulham (A) 1-0 L
Making a total of three changes, Douglas Luiz, Emi Buendia and Pau Torres could come in – with Victor Lindelof, Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings dropping out.
Lindelof, in particular, has impressed for Villa in a deep midfield role across the last week, with the Swede performing admirably against Nottingham Forest and Burnley.
Registering a 77 per cent pass completion rate, three defensive contributions and the one successful dribble, the former Manchester United man surprised the Villa Park faithful in the middle of the park.
And with the fitness of Amadou Onana still in doubt, Emery may look to save the defender by trade for the upcoming final, allowing for Luiz to get the chance from the off on Friday.
Argentine attacker Buendia was sensational against Forest in Europe and could return to the side, while Torres drops into centre-back in place of the ageing Mings.
A graphic detailing the predicted Aston Villa lineup vs Liverpool.
Credit: Breaking Media
Ian Maatsen keeps his place at left-back, with Emery potentially saving the experienced Lucas Digne for Istanbul.
Had a top-five spot been confirmed ahead of Friday, there would have been scope for further rotation, but that option is no longer available.
Villa do play on Friday, a day before opponents Freiburg, giving them five full days between the two matches.
As a result, the Liverpool clash could be seen as a chance to build momentum before the final, rather than simply a game to get through unscathed.
Freiburg left with equally difficult choices
As always at the thick end of the season, the difficulty lies in balancing multiple competitions – though this is par for the course for two clubs who wish to be challenging at the thick end of their respective tournaments.
It has been a gruelling month for Freiburg, who have played out semi-finals in both the DFB-Pokal and Europa League, while their own European spot in the Bundesliga hangs in the balance.
Rotating heavily against Hamburg on Sunday, the Breisgauers fell to a 3-2 defeat.
Now, the battle for seventh in the Bundesliga goes to the final day, with Julian Schuster’s side taking on RB Leipzig.
The Black Forest club sit a point ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt, who face a stern test in Champions League chasers Stuttgart – leaving Freiburg hoping for a favour from their local rivals.
Meanwhile, Augsburg sit level with Eintracht ahead of their final day clash with Union Berlin.
Much like Villa, Schuster’s side simply have to take Saturday seriously against a Leipzig side with nothing to play for, or they risk dropping out of Europe entirely should the Villans be the side to triumph in Istanbul next week.
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