Aston Villa v Liverpool

• 19:45 GMT on BT Sport 1
• Match odds:

Liverpool’s third round FA Cup tie against Aston Villa on Friday evening has rapidly become a much more pivotal match in the Reds’ season than Jürgen Klopp would have liked it to.

The FA Cup is by no means Liverpool’s top priority, but this particular match is beginning to look more and more significant, not least as the Reds are out to avenge the infamous 7-2 drubbing that Villa dished out to them at Villa Park earlier in the campaign.

This is more than just a simple vengeance mission though, with Liverpool looking to get back on track after a marked stall over the last fortnight.

They are winless in three following their 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Monday, and try as Klopp might to blame the lack of penalties his team have been awarded this season, the Liverpool boss cannot disguise the fact that they have looked a little bereft of ideas lately.

To make matters worse, his record in the FA Cup is nothing short of abysmal - the German has failed to get past the fourth round in four attempts.

Liverpool lost to Wolves at this stage last season, and Klopp will no doubt feel aggrieved at the quality of opposition his side have been drawn against once again, but this could present a good opportunity for the Reds to get back to winning ways, with Villa manager Dean Smith already admitting that he’ll be making a number of changes. In fact, Smith questioned whether the FA Cup should even have gone ahead this season.

We all know that the Christmas period is busy, but Smith’s qualms with the fixture list are surely less founded than most given this will be Villa’s first competitive match since their 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on New Year’s Day.

Prior to that loss Villa were unbeaten in five - wins against Wolves, Crystal Palace and West Brom, and draws against Burnley and Chelsea.