Aston Villa Vs Liverpool, Waiting for Marcus Rashford's Reincarnation

BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAY — Aston Villa hopes to witness the reincarnation of Marcus Rashford when they host Liverpool, the top of the English Premier League standings, at Villa Park Stadium, Birmingham, England, on Thursday (20/2/2025) at 02:30 AM WIB. In his professional career, Liverpool is Rashford's favorite prey among the top six teams in England.

Agreeing to join Villa in the second half of the 2024-2025 season is like an opportunity for Rashford to be reborn as one of the best English players today. After experiencing dark times due to an unharmonious relationship with Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim, the 27-year-old forward has the chance to rediscover his best form under Villa Manager Unai Emery.

Emery's confidence in Rashford has been demonstrated in Villa's last two games. Despite complaints from Amorim about his lack of willingness to train hard, Emery has reinstilled confidence in Rashford.

Amidst his less than optimal match fitness, Emery brought Rashford on as a substitute in the FA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, then the Premier League match against Ipswich Town. In those two matches, Rashford showed an improving performance.

The player with jersey number nine initiated Villa's equalizing goal in the 69th minute. The goal scored by Ollie Watkins began with a free-kick execution by Rashford that hit the crossbar. Watkins only needed to tap the ball to shake the Ipswich net.

It is no wonder that Villa supporters place great hopes on Rashford to end the four-match winless streak in the English Premier League when facing Liverpool. Rashford has a good foundation to start earning the affection of his new club's supporters.

During his time with MU, Rashford has appeared in 19 matches against "The Reds," Liverpool's nickname. He has scored in six of those matches, with a total of seven goals.

During that duel period, MU was only able to beat Liverpool four times. Interestingly, those four wins were achieved when Rashford was able to score goals. Rashford's last three goals against Liverpool were the last three positive results for the "Red Devils" over Liverpool since the 2022-2023 season.

He has been in better shape and feels comfortable with the team. He will help us in the next game.

Rashford's only goal against Liverpool that ended in vain occurred in the 34th game of the 2020-2021 Premier League. At that time, MU fell 2-4 at Old Trafford Stadium.

Referring to goals against opponents, Liverpool is the top six English team that the Manchester native has scored the most goals against. After Liverpool, Rashford has scored six goals against Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. The team that Rashford has scored the most goals against is Leicester City thanks to a collection of eight goals from 18 games.

Emery said Rashford was getting fitter. The decision to bring Rashford off the bench, Emery added, was aimed at helping his new player return to his maximum physical level.

"He has been in better condition and also feels comfortable with the team. He will help us in the next game (against Liverpool)," Emery said, as reported by Sky Sports, Tuesday (2/18/2025).

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admits that Rashford is one of the new players who can help Villa become stronger in the second half of the season. Individually, Slot considers Rashford to be one of the quality players in the Premier League.

"I think he (Rashford) has a chance to rise with Villa. I'm impressed with his pace and his ability on the ball. So, of course he can be a threat for us," said Slot, as reported by the club's website.

Apart from Rashford, Villa have another new “weapon” in Marco Asensio. The Spanish left-footed player is no stranger to Liverpool.

Asensio has played five times for Real Madrid against the Reds. In that time, Asensio helped Real to four wins and only one draw. Asensio completed the positive record against Liverpool with a goal.

Meanwhile, Slot has made new history for Liverpool as the tactician with the most points in the first 25 games in the Premier League era. In Premier League history, Slot is the third manager to collect at least 60 points in the first 25 games.

Slot equals the achievements of Antonio Conte (2016-2017) and Jose Mourinho (2004-2005). Slot's collection of 60 points from 25 games is equal to Conte, while Mourinho has collected 64 points in the number of games.

Now, Slot is only short of winning the Premier League trophy that Conte and Mourinho were able to present to Chelsea in their debut season in England. In order to perpetuate the championship ambition, the Reds must beat Villa. After facing Villa, Liverpool will travel to Manchester City's headquarters.

"The remaining 13 games are very important for us, starting with the game against Villa. They have a good home record, but we have a good away record," Slot said.

Furthermore, he is not affected by Villa's winless run in the Premier League in the last three matches.

"They are a quality team that is confirmed as one of the teams in the top eight of the Champions League. They are led by an experienced manager and have a good tactical plan. So, the match will present a difficult challenge for us," he said.