Liverpool v Aston Villa: Premier League – live

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Key events3m agoPreambleShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureAndy HunterArne Slot has said the Liverpool hierarchy share his views on the reasons for the team’s slump and he will not abandon an attacking style in search of a way out. The head coach admitted that six defeats in seven games was unacceptable before Aston Villa’s visit on Saturday and denied making excuses for Liverpool’s worst domestic run in 72 years.Slot accepted the pressure was on before his makeshift team exited the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

That pressure to arrest the slide, however, is not, he insisted, coming from Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, FSG’s chief executive of football, Michael Edwards, or the sporting director, Richard Hughes, after a summer transfer outlay of almost £450m.Read more…PreambleIn a dim, distant past – five and a bit weeks ago – Liverpool were top of the Premier League, 12 points clear of 18th-placed Aston Villa. Now the two clubs are level on points, snuggled together in mid-table.Villa’s recovery is a reminder that things change very quickly in football; that bad patches are almost unavoidable and you just have to ride them out.

Easier said than done, especially when you:a) are the reigning champions b) are one of the biggest clubs in the world c) spent eye-watering wonga in the summer and d) exist in a culture that has gone completely madThe good news for Arne Slot is that there’s a simple solution: if Liverpool win tonight, the bloodlustful masses will look elsewhere. At least until the next game.Kick off 8pm.