Liverpoolvs.Aston Villa

Liverpool beat German champions Bayer Leverkusen in front of a bouncing Anfield crowd on Tuesday night ahead of the visit of Unai Emery's Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The Reds were held at bay for more than an hour against Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, but with the help of fervent home support, Arne Slot's side put them to the sword in the last 30 minutes, scoring four times.

In the Premier League, Liverpool are first with 25 points from a possible 30, and are two points ahead of Manchester City and already seven points in front of Arsenal.

Slot's start to life as manager on Merseyside has been exceptional, with the Dutchman having won 14 of his 16 games in charge, the most of any Premier League manager in their first 16 matches.

Liverpool are set to welcome Villa to Anfield on Saturday, and they will hope to go 10 points clear of Arsenal before the Gunners take on Chelsea on Sunday.

Villa form

Emery's Villa led the way in the Champions League table prior to the fourth round of fixtures in the competition, but his side lost 1-0 against Club Brugge on Wednesday.

The Belgian side's winning goal came about through bizarre circumstances early in the second half when Villans centre-back Tyrone Mings inexplicably picked up the ball in his own penalty area after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had taken a goal kick.

Club Brugge scored the penalty and claimed all three points, and the result left Emery's side in eighth place with nine points, but they still occupy an automatic qualification spot for the round of 16.

Liverpool are unlikely to benefit from such an unusual error on Saturday, but one area they could look to take advantage of is Villa's weakness in defensive transition.

Emery noted concerns about the ability of his players to deal with a team that attacks directly with pace in the aftermath of his side's 4-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, and this is something that the Reds have excelled at this season.

Indeed, Luis Diaz scored his goal against Brentford on August 25 after a swift Reds counter-attack from their own box saw the Colombian played through by Diogo Jota, and the whole move took just 7.75 seconds.

Anfield to beat Villa's defence?

Given the weaknesses in transition that have been somewhat exposed recently, it would not be surprising if Villa decided to defend in a deep block, a tactic that has frustrated the Reds at times this season.

This was apparent against Nottingham Forest in September when Liverpool created very little in the final third and struggled to contain counter-attacks, and eventually lost 1-0.

However, the famed Anfield atmosphere could prove vital on Saturday evening, especially as the Reds crowd are known for making late kick offs a raucous occasion.

Alonso admitted after Leverkusen's defeat in the Champions League that his players struggled to contain the crowd, and were ultimately swept aside as fans spurred Slot's team to victory.

If Liverpool fans are as vocal and supportive on Saturday against Aston Villa as they were on Tuesday, then there is every chance that Slot could win his 15th game in charge.

Sports Mole editor Barney Corkhill spoke with Liverpool expert David Lynch to discuss Liverpool's upcoming match against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday evening at Anfield.

Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.