Liverpool line-ups as Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister benched for Aston Villa

Liverpool have the chance to end a challenging run of fixtures in style on Saturday. Aston Villa are the visitors to Anfield in the Premier League.

Arne Slot's team have been on a sensational run as of late, with the 4-0 hammering of Bayer Leverkusen in midweek in the Champions League arguably the standout performance of his short tenure. Victory would guarantee the Reds go into the upcoming international break top of the pile too.

They could be playing Villa at a perfect time as well. Unai Emery's side have been excellent under his guidance, although they have suffer back-to-back losses in the buildup to the game.

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Ian Doyle, Theo Squires and Paul Gorst will all be in attendance for tonight's fixture. They have each picked a preferred XI for the Reds too.

Ian Doyle

The final game of a tough run for Liverpool ahead of the international break. And a chance to maintain their position at the top of the table.

What, then, is Arne Slot to do?

There is scope for some change, but a lot of it seems unlikely given the welcome gap between the Bayer Leverkusen win and the Premier League visit of Aston Villa this evening.

Caoimhin Kelleher is in goal, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk remain the centre-backs while Trent Alexander-Arnold is right-back. And Kostas Tsimikas has done enough to stay at left-back.

In midfield, Curtis Jones has to start. But perhaps in place of Alexis Mac Allister, who has looked a little tired of late. Ryan Gravenberch is the other deeper midfielder, with Dominik Szoboszlai back in as the number 10.

Up top, Darwin Nunez returns down the middle with Mohamed Salah on the right. And it seems a bit harsh, but hat-trick hero Luis Diaz can go on the bench with Cody Gakpo starting on the left.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez

Paul Gorst

Victory in this one will see the Reds head into the international break with at least a two-point advantage at the summit and it is the perfect chance to put more pressure on a flailing Arsenal ahead of Sunday's trip to Chelsea. There could be 10 points between the clubs by Sunday night, which would surely leave Mikel Arteta out of the Premier League title reckoning.

In terms of team selection, there isn't a whole lot to debate beyond the left-back and left-wing situations. Andy Robertson returns for me in place of Kostas Tsimikas, who has done little wrong when called upon this season.

Wide left, the difficult decision is whether to stick with hat-trick hero Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo? Both players have been in excellent form and the curveball is to stick Diaz down the middle like Tuesday night against Leverkusen, where he bagged a hat-trick. That would mean leaving Darwin Nunez kicking his heels on the substitutes' bench with Diogo Jota still sidelined.

Curtis Jones has to keep his place over Dominik Szoboszlai, surely? The former was superb again on Tuesday night and his assist for Diaz was sensational. That should be enough to keep his place for the visit of Villa.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Diaz, Nunez

Theo Squires

So here we are, Liverpool’s final match before the November international break, with the promise of the Reds’ current injured stars returning soon after club football resumes.

But it’s picking from the same pool for the visit of Aston Villa, and once again the same selection dilemmas continue. Who starts down the left-flank and which of the midfielders finds themselves benched?

It’s an unchanged back five from me with Kostas Tsimikas keeping his place at left-back. The Greek and Andy Robertson have started six games each from the Reds’ last 12, including successive matches in the last run of four. But on current form, it’s the former who has emerged as first-choice for me.

Ahead of him, I’m going for Luis Diaz back in his favoured left-wing position. It’s harsh to leave Cody Gakpo out with the Dutchman also in good form, but you just can’t overlook the Colombian after his hat-trick over Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

Consequently, Darwin Nunez returns to lead the attack with Mohamed Salah completing the front three.

And Dominik Szoboszlai returns in midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister the man to drop out this time as Curtis Jones switches to a deeper role alongside Ryan Gravenberch.

My team (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Nunez