Just two weeks/rounds of the 2025-26 Premier League season remain, and as it stands right now, both Liverpool and Aston Villa are in line for UEFA Champions League qualification. The two sides will meet on Friday, kicking off Match Day 37 weekend. Both are in need of a result here, as red hot AFC Bournemouth are nipping at their heels. The Cherries will be hoping for a result that isn’t a draw, because if somebody loses, that losing side will be easier to chase down. The Reds have a very long injury list for this one, and we have updates on the likes of Florian Wirtz, Mo Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Alison.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool FC FYIs
Kickoff: Fri. May 15 7:30pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Team News: Aston Villa Liverpool
PL Position, Form: Liverpool 4th, 59 pts, WWWLD Aston Villa 5th, 59 pts, DWLLD
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 43% Draw 25% Aston Villa win 32%
Reds Team News
Let’s start with Wirtz, who missed the score draw with Chelsea due to feeling ill. Manager Arne Slot said that Wirtz was still training however, so he should be fully fit in time for this clash. Salah and Allison were still not training, as of last weekend, according to Slot.
However, the under-fire Reds boss also indicated that both were getting close to coming back. Time is running out for the duo to feature again, before the season concludes, and given the magnitude of this match, you know they’ll try their hardest to be ready in time.
For Salah there is added pressure, as he’s already officially called time on the Liverpool portion of his career.
As for Konate, here is what Slot said about his thigh injury this past Friday: “We always have to wait and see, [but] the way he limped off, he told me it was cramp. Let’s hope he is right in his assessment, but we have to wait and see tomorrow how he feels and how that will work out.”
You can put him in the doubt category for Friday night.
And then finally, Wataru Endo, Jayden Danns, Giovanni Leoni, Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley have all long been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.