Aston Villa and Liverpool will meet in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, so here we give our prediction for the outcome as well as take a look at the latest team news ahead of the game.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool match facts
- ⚽️ Pre-season friendly
- 🏟️ Aston Villa FC Training Ground, Bodymoor Heath (behind closed doors)
- ⏱️Saturday, August 9th: 14:00pm (BST)
First game for new Liverpool manager Gareth Taylor
Liverpool Women finally have a permanent head coach after announcing Gareth Taylor has taken up the role on Friday.
The Reds had been without a permanent head coach since February, when they parted ways with Matt Beard.
Taylor lost his job at Manchester City just one month later, but is now back in management.
Their trip to Aston Villa on Saturday will be the first time he watches the side in action.
With less than one month until the new Women’s Super League season, Liverpool players will be keen to prove themselves to their new head coach.
The first meeting 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/6OwOhawQO5
— Liverpool FC Women (@LiverpoolFCW) August 8, 2025
Who have Aston Villa and Liverpool signed this summer?
The most notable signing for Aston Villa is England’s Euro 2022 winner Ellie Roebuck, who mutually agreed to terminate her contract with Barcelona.
Roebuck struggled for starts at Barcelona, resulting in her missing Euro 2025 where the Lionesses successfully defended their trophy.
The Lionesses are second-favourites with betting sites to win the tournament again at Euro 2029.
Dutch international Jill Baijings has joined on a permanent deal following a loan spell last season.
Villa have also signed Lynn Wilms from Wolfsburg, Sophia Poor from the London City Lionesses and Lucia Kendall from Southampton.
Liverpool’s transfer business has increased after a tough start in terms of outgoings.
Olivia Smith and Taylor Hinds both signed for Arsenal – the former for a world record £1m fee.
Since then, they have re-signed Sam Kerr from Bayern Munich after a loan spell last season.
Kirsty Maclean has joined from Rangers, Lily Woodham from Seattle Reign and Rafaela Borggrafe from SC Freiburg.
What is the team news ahead of the pre-season friendly?
This will be the second pre-season friendly for Aston Villa after they lost 2-0 to Manchester United last week.
Lucy Staniforth, Paula Thomas and Gabi Nunes all missed the game as they continue to return from injury.
New signings, including Ellie Roebuck and Jill Baijings, played against United and will likely start against Liverpool.
Liverpool Women will play their first game of pre-season, and their first under Gareth Taylor.
Taylor will only have been able to see his team in training on Friday ahead of the clash with Aston Villa.
There will likely be appearances from new signings Lily Woodham, Kirsty Maclean and Rafaela Borggrafe.
Predicted lineups
Aston Villa predicted XI: Roebuck; Maritz, Patten, Deslandes; Grant, Bo Kearns, Baijings, Hanson; Daly; Salmon, Mullett
Liverpool predicted XI: Laws; Fisk, Bonner, Evans, Woodham; Kerr, Nagano; Kiernan, Holland, Maclean; Roman Haug
Aston Villa vs Liverpool prediction
Aston Villa will be the more ready of these two sides having already played a pre-season fixture with Manchester United.
Liverpool will play just over 24 hours after appointing their new manager Gareth Taylor.
Therefore, Villa should hold an advantage and take a 2-1 victory.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool
