Chris Sutton goes with his gut as he predicts Liverpool response at Anfield | OneFootball

Liverpool’s trip to Anfield tonight has been called a must-win by just about everyone and now even Chris Sutton believes history, not form, will guide us back to victory against Aston Villa.

Sutton agrees with McCoist’s Villa prediction

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The BBC Sport pundit, speaking in his weekly predictions column, admitted it’s hard to justify backing us on recent results alone but still tipped the Reds to win 3-1.

“Slot’s side play Real Madrid and Manchester City after this, so they desperately need to end this slump in form before it gets any worse,” Sutton said via BBC Sport.

The former striker acknowledged that Villa are on a roll under Unai Emery, having won their past four league matches, but insisted our record at Anfield against them cannot be ignored.

“Looking at both teams over the past few weeks, you would expect Villa to get something here,” he said.

“Villa have taken only one point from their past seven visits to Anfield and have only won one of their past 15 league games against Liverpool.

“I’m going with Liverpool to win, with Mohamed Salah getting a hat-trick.”

Ally McCoist has also backed the Reds to go out and get, what would be, three much-needed points.

Liverpool look to respond after Van Dijk’s rallying cry

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The words from Sutton come after our skipper urged unity before kick-off, with Van Dijk’s rallying cry before the Anfield showdown reminding everyone that “it starts with us and our performance levels.”

Sutton believes that reminder of Liverpool’s mentality, and our incredible home record against Villa, will make the difference.

Our No.11 could also reach another milestone tonight. Mo Salah sits one goal shy of 250 for Liverpool, and a brace would make us the first English club to score 350 league goals against a single opponent.

For us, this is about responding, resetting, and reminding everyone what Anfield nights are all about.

Sutton might not always back Liverpool, but this time even he admits it’s hard to argue with history and he believes Salah will make sure the story is written the way it should be.

You can watch Slot’s full pre-Aston Villa press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:

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