The team meeting after lunch was mainly to watch Aston Villa's game video, reiterating tactical play and tactical discipline to ensure that the game is foolproof in the evening.

In fact, Liverpool has been studying how to deal with Aston Villa for a long time and has been training for a long time. The players are a little aesthetically tired. The role they have played is very limited when they hold another meeting. Many players even chat and send text messages during the meeting, which makes Benitez very unhappy.

However, Benitez did not get angry on the spot. Although he had not won the opening game for three consecutive years after taking over Liverpool, his opponent was still a weak team and had not beaten Liverpool for six years. It was difficult for players to pay attention to it, and even Benitez was even

I can't be excited, although he really wants to win the game.

At the end of the meeting, Benitez also took the team to briefly review the video clips of several Premier League games brought by the scouts, analyze the characteristics of the mid- and lower-stream teams in the new season, and stimulate the disciples who are not excited enough.

Six games have been played before Liverpool and Aston Villa. Sunderland defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at home, Newcastle defeated Bolton 3-1 away, Portsmouth drew 2-2 away with Derby County, Everton defeated Wigan Athletic 2-1 at home, Middlesbrough lost 1-2 to Blackburn at home, and Manchester City defeated West Ham 2-0 away.

Among the games that have been played, Liverpool pays most attention to Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Manchester City and West Ham United.

Tottenham and Manchester City are teams that have the strength to make trouble for the teams that compete for the championship. Their performance in the opening game can also reflect the strength and competitive state of the mid- and lower-level teams in the new season to a certain extent.

Judging from the process and results of the game, the Premier League this season is not optimistic, and the mid- and lower-level teams have strong strength and fighting spirit.

Manchester City transferred 8 players in one breath with Thaksin's sponsorship. Last season, half of the team sat on the bench, and Chinese star Sun Hai did not make the big roster. Manchester City team, which has added a lot of new blood, has indeed improved its strength. In the first round, West Ham United has no strength to fight back. They are no longer the team that fights for relegation every year. They are very likely to get a seat in the UEFA Cup or even the UEFA Champions League next year. This is an opponent that Liverpool must pay attention to.

West Ham United is Liverpool's next opponent, this is a nerve knife. In terms of strength and experience, they should not be beaten so embarrassing by Manchester City at home, but the result is that Liverpool is both happy and worried. What they are happy is that West Ham United is in such a poor state, and what they are worried about is that this nerve knife will explode in the next game.

Tottenham Hotspur is also a mid-to-high-level team that has the strength to compete for the Champions League and causes trouble for the championship team. However, in the first round, they were defeated by Sunderland, a newly promoted team led by Keane, away, which made Liverpool players a little alert and was upset at the beginning, which will stimulate the mid-to-lower teams and increase their self-confidence.

It is often easy for a wealthy family to fight against weak teams. In addition to the gap in strength, the weak team lacks confidence and would rather preserve their strength to fight against opponents of the same level. This is also one of the keys to the wealthy family to easily win. If the weak team fights desperately, it will not be easy for a champion to play a relegated team.

The afternoon training was calm and followed the steps. Aston Villa did not cause any trouble for Liverpool, and provided Liverpool with enough convenience. It was just a bit too convenient. Fans could enter and exit the stadium freely. Aston Villa fans who had conflicts with Liverpool on the road kept provoking Liverpool players and fans in the stands. Fans of both sides had verbal conflicts in the stands, which made Liverpool players unable to concentrate all their energy during training. After only one hour of training, the game ended in a hurry, and it almost didn't have the effect of warming up.

At the press conference before the game, Aston Villa coach O'Neal and Benitez attended. Benitez directly criticized Aston Villa for making trouble for fans too dirty and inappropriate, and even if they gained a advantage in the game, they would not be honored.

O'Neal was not concerned about Benitez's sympathetic criticism. He smiled and explained that this was a problem for the stadium manager and he was unaware of it. If he knew it, he would never let this happen. He advocated fair competition, both for himself and others.

O'Neal is a bit tricky, and of course he may not really be aware of it. As a hostile side, he cannot think so carefully about Liverpool in everything. Benitez is not easy to blame this, otherwise he would be the one who has no demeanor and measurement, not O'Neal.

The two head coaches fought at the beginning, and the result would definitely not be pleasant. Although the reporters liked this scene very much, both head coaches lacked interest and were all focused on the subsequent games. The press conference before the game ended hastily.

The matches of the four Premier League giants are scheduled to be later. Liverpool and Aston Villa are scheduled to be held at 17:45 pm on the 11th. This is the earliest game in the semi-finals. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are all held at the 12th.

Aston Villa had not won 12 games against Liverpool and 9 games at home. Even if the big American boss took over and the resourceful O'Neal took office, Aston Villa was unable to reverse the decline. This made Aston Villa's fans and players have a strong desire for revenge. Driven by this wish, the number of people coming to Villa Park Stadium to watch the game soared. The stands that could accommodate 42,584 people were full for the first time in three years. There were still many fans who could not buy tickets outside the court waiting for refunds.

The live commentator of Villa Park Stadium also seemed very excited today. Before the players from both sides entered the court, he kept using various sensational language to motivate the emotions of the fans. When the players from both sides entered the court, this emotion immediately gathered into a storm-like palm and shouting. Of course, this was for Villa players, and the one who greeted Liverpool was a huge boo.

Pennant is still one of the most popular ones. When Liverpool players were booed, he received scolding, and a group of fans specifically targeted him, and even wrote songs to mock Pennant.

Before the game, Pennant was specifically instructed by his captain and coach. Although he was very angry in the face of the humiliation of opponent fans, he tried his best to restrain his emotions and prepared to use his performance and goals to hit them in the face in the game.

The game was about to begin soon. When Liverpool and Aston Villa players shook hands, the commentators on the scene began to introduce the starting players of both sides, as well as their formation and playing style to the fans.

Aston Villa is a steady 4-4-2 formation, goalkeeper 13-Le; four defenders: 5-Rauerson, 3-Booma, 4-Melberg, 26-Gardner; four midfielders: 20-Reo Cork, 19-Petrov, 6-Barry, 11-Abonraho; two forwards 7-Ashley Young, 10-Caru

Liverpool's starting lineup is also 4-4-2: goalkeeper is 25-Reiner; four defenders 3-Finnan, 23-Carrag, 5-Ager, 6-Riser; four midfielders: 17-Aberoa, 14-Alonso, 8-Gerard, 16-Penant; 18-Kuyt, 9-Chen Yu

Villa's commentator is very pragmatic. He does not simply judge the way both sides play in the game based on the formation of both sides. He analyzed: "Although Villa and Liverpool both line up a 442 formation, O'Neal's personality will definitely play defensive counterattacks, and they must be steady and counterattacks. For O'Neal, victory and stability are not contradictory, especially in the face of Liverpool, last season's champion Liverpool, he will not be relaxed at all, and will definitely tie the fences firmly. As for the goal, it is estimated that Karu will still stand in a position and let Ashley Young, Abonraho and Petrov attack with speed. But whether he can score a goal is still

It depends on luck and the tactics adopted by Benitez. Benitez is also an expert in counterattack. The coach who can make Mourinho and Ferguson helpless is definitely an amazing coach. However, facing Aston Villa, his counterattack is probably not useful. A team that has not defeated Liverpool for six years. As the defending champion, if Benitez defends and counterattacks, even if he wins, he will be overwhelmed by the saliva of fans and media. It can be said that strength, fame and position determine that Benitez can only attack and cannot play the defensive counterattack tactics he is most familiar with. Once he attacks, O'Neal's team will have a chance..."

Villa's live commentator was very smart, and his words came to Villa coach O'Neal's heart.

O'Neal was a famous English coach, Clough. He won the European Championship twice with Nottingham Forest and reached the peak of his player career. He was deeply rooted in the essence of traditional English football. At the same time, he is good at learning and is also very fond of the classic defensive counterattack of Italian football.

In order to create an airtight defensive system, O'Neal particularly valued "big guys" with excellent high-altitude ball skills and excellent physical fitness in the back line. In order to adhere to fast and efficient counterattack tactics, O'Neal sacrificed the possession of the midfield. The midfielders are all tough guys with abundant physical fitness and balanced offense and defense. The front line is a traditional British combination with one high and one fast. O'Neal believes that his tactics may not be enough to sweep the mid- and downstream teams like a giant, but it will never be easy for a strong team to defeat him easily.

O'Neal has studied Liverpool's personnel combination and tactical play very deeply. He understands that for normal play, Villa will lose at least 9 times more than ten times, but Villa has Villa's advantage. This advantage is that Liverpool's winning rate against Villa is too high, and Liverpool players will definitely not pay attention to it. If Liverpool is careless, Villa has the hope of using counterattack to win a victory.

Defensive counterattack is Villa's only chance to win, so although the formation is 442, Villa's defense is definitely the defense of the whole nation, and the counterattack will certainly not be Mourinho's style of full-line counterattack. Villa does not have Chelsea's control ability, and Aston Villa's counterattack actually relies on three batches of fast horses and Norwegian high center forward Karu. Don't look at the small number of people invested. If Liverpool attacks, the attack of these four people will be fatal.

Benitez had just shook hands with O'Neal, and now he looked at O'Neal, wearing golden-framed glasses standing not far away, and was also secretly weighing his weight.

This man once led the unknown Leicester City to win two League Cups and advanced to the UEFA Cup; he won the league, League Cup and FA Scotland FA Cup in his first season; he resolutely put down his coaching stick at the peak of his career in order to take care of his seriously ill wife.

In terms of coaching experience, O'Neal is not much inferior to him, Benitez, and is much bigger than him in terms of player achievements.

In the first encounter between the two last season, O'Neal just took over Aston Villa. Liverpool easily won 3:1 in the first leg, but Liverpool had Chen Yu, who was like a god of killing, and it was very difficult to win in the second leg. Now O'Neal has taken over Aston Villa for one season, and another summer of integration and polishing, which is probably even more difficult to deal with.

However, looking at the players on both sides of the court, Benitez reduced his fear of O'Neal a few points. The gap between coaches may not be big, but the gap between players is too big. Which player he has is not one level higher than O'Neal's players. The value of superstars like Chen Yu and Gerrard is even more worthy of him and a team. Even if O'Neal really has good skills, facing his own strength crushing, he will definitely lose today.
Chapter completed!