Paul Merson and Chris Sutton disagree on Liverpool vs Aston Villa prediction

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Salah has faced criticism for his performances since the start of the season, and Liverpool's only win in the last seven games came when he was left out of the starting lineup. Predicting a 3-1 win for Liverpool on BBC Sport, Sutton said: "Villa have taken only one point from their past seven visits to Anfield, and have won only one of their past 15 league games against Liverpool - although that was a 7-2 success in October 2020.

"I had my bogey teams - most of them felt like that by the end to be honest - so, I am going with Liverpool to win, with Mohamed Salah getting a hat-trick." Meanwhile, Paul Merson — submitting his score predictions for the weekend with Sportskeeda — believes that Villa's players will go into the game feeling as though they have nothing to lose, as all the focus will be on Liverpool amid the team's atrocious run of form. Paul Merson thinks Liverpool's winless league run will continue (Image: Getty Images) "Part of me goes, 'At some point Liverpool will start winning games again.' But when you lose six out of seven games, something is wrong.

And it's not just the games you are losing, it's also the confidence. That freedom will give them an advantage." Giving his verdict on Liverpool's team selection, he added: "A big question is whether or not Mohamed Salah starts this game for Liverpool.