Sports Mole previews Liverpool's Premier League trip to Aston Villa as the Reds seek to continue their good recent form against Paul Lambert's goal-shy side.

Goal-shy Aston Villa are the latest test of the Liverpool revival as Brendan Rodgers's side visit the West Midlands for Premier League action on Saturday.

The Reds have won three out of their last four games in the league to climb to eighth in the table and to within five points of the Champions League places.

Their latest three points came courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last weekend, in which £20m summer signing Lazar Markovic scored his first goal for the club.

Another expensive summer recruit, Adam Lallana, is in contention to return to the squad after recovering quicker than expected from a thigh problem that was expected to sideline him for a month.

Lallana was playing an important role in aiding Liverpool's improvement - they have now lost only once in their last 13 matches in all competitions - before his New Year's Day injury in the draw with Leicester City.

The former Southampton captain actually made his Reds debut when they were shocked 1-0 by Villa at Anfield in September, but that has proven to be one of very few highs for Paul Lambert's men this season.

That result continued Villa's unbeaten start to the season and took them to second in the table. They have since collected 12 points and scored just seven goals in 17 games to drop to 13th in the standings.

Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor are joint-top scorers with three in the league, but Villa need a lot more from the forward pair if they are to increase the three-point gap between them and the relegation zone.

Lambert brought in Carles Gil from Valencia this week in an attempt to give his side much-needed creativity. The 22-year-old Spanish playmaker is likely to be included among the substitutes on Saturday.

Ciaran Clark is banned after being sent off late in the 1-0 loss to bottom side Leicester City, and joins Ron Vlaar and Philippe Senderos on the defensive absentee list, but Nathan Baker is fit again to provide cover.

For the first time in over three months, Lambert has the option to play all of Ashley Westwood, Tom Cleverley and Fabian Delph, who returns from suspension, in midfield and so Carlos Sanchez could be dropped.

Delph's contract expires at the end of the season and he has been tipped as a potential replacement for Steven Gerrard when the Liverpool legend leaves for Los Angeles Galaxy in the summer.

A slight hamstring injury could keep Gerrard out of this one and therefore the man who is expected to inherit the captaincy from him, Jordan Henderson, could be shifted inside to his favoured midfield position.

That could mean a recall for Javier Manquillo at right-wing back and a promotion upfield for Markovic. Raheem Sterling is back from his club-approved winter break and should replace Fabio Borini up front.

Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan have all returned to training in some capacity, but are not yet ready to play. Joe Allen is further away from a return, and Kolo Toure at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Rodgers has reiterated this week that Mario Balotelli will not be sold this month, but the Italian striker, who is without a Premier League goal since his £16m move from AC Milan, will be on the bench at best.

The home team have not won any of the last seven meetings between these two Premier League ever-presents.

Villa:

Form in Premier League: LDLDDL
Form in all competitions: DLDDWL

Possible starting lineup: Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Baker, Cissokho; Westwood, Cleverley, Delph; Agbonlahor, Benteke, Weimann

Liverpool:

Form in Premier League: LDWWDW
Form in all competitions: DWWDWW

Possible starting lineup: Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Sakho; Manquillo, Henderson, Lucas, Moreno; Coutinho, Markovic, Sterling

Sports Mole says: 1-1