It won’t be long until Roberto Firmino goes from “active Liverpool player” to “club legend,” and there is renewed hope that he’ll get one last chance to feature before his Reds career ends.
It had been thought that he wouldn’t play again in a red shirt, due to injury, but the Brazilian has now resumed training ahead of the league fixture against Aston Villa.
It is a must win match for the Merseysiders, as this is a clash with ramifications for all three of the European competitions. You can see that from the chart below.
Race for UCL, UECL and UEL
3rd. Newcastle United 66 points, 35 matches played, +32 goal differential
Matches Remaining: Brighton on Thursday, May 22 vs Leicester, @ Chelsea May 28
4th Manchester United 66 points, 35 matches played, +10 goal differential
Matches Remaining: @ Bournemouth May 20, vs Chelsea May 25
5th Liverpool FC: 65 points, 36 matches played, +28 goal differential
Matches Remaining: vs Aston Villa May 20, at Southampton May 28
6th Brighton: 58 points, 34 matches played, +21 goal differential
Matches Remaining: this one against Newcastle, at Southampton May 21, at Man City May 24, at Aston Villa May 28
7th Tottenham 57 points, 36 matches played, +6 goal differential
this one, at Leeds United May 28
8th Aston Villa 57 points, 36 matches played, +6 goal differential
at Liverpool on Saturday, versus Brighton on Championship Sunday.
This will be the final home game of the season for Liverpool, and thus the last chance for Firmino to play in front of the home fans, as his contract will soon expire.
The club has already confirmed his departure; ditto for some other members of the out of contract brigade- James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Liverpool at Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. May 20 3pm GMT, Anfield
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction: go here
Google Probability: Liverpool FC Win 66% Draw 19% Aston Villa Win 15%
PL Standing, Form Liverpool 5th, 66 pts, WWWWW Aston Villa 8th, 57, WLLWD
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
The news is less optimistic for Darwin Nunez, as he didn’t take part in training on Wednesday. The toe injury that he’s been dealing with might prove to be more serious than we were initially led to believe.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.