The final Friday night fixture of the 2025/26 Premier League season carries a heavyweight significance: Aston Villa and Liverpool arrive at Villa Park level on 59 points, with Champions League qualification hanging in the balance. Tonight’s match is a straight six-pointer, and the outcome will determine whether either side can book their place in Europe’s elite competition without relying on results elsewhere.
Champions League permutations: the full breakdown
A win for either side tonight would confirm their place in the Champions League. The loser would have to wait until the final day of the season to secure qualification – and could yet be overtaken by Bournemouth, who face Manchester City on Tuesday night. A draw would allow both Aston Villa and Liverpool to qualify this weekend, but only if Bournemouth drop points in that midweek fixture against Pep Guardiola’s side. City are locked in a title race with Arsenal, sitting two points behind with two games to play, so the result at the Vitality Stadium is far from guaranteed.
Aston Villa have an additional safety net: they face Freiburg in the Europa League final on May 20 at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul. Victory there would automatically send Unai Emery’s side into the Champions League, regardless of what happens tonight. That final looms large, but Emery has made clear his priority is the Premier League. Villa’s domestic form has been patchy – they have taken only eight points from their last nine league matches, and a 2-2 draw with Burnley last time out put their top-five position under threat. However, they remain a dangerous knockout side; between October and the end of January, Villa won more games than any other Premier League team, accumulating 13 victories and 40 points in that period.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have won only three of their last nine matches across all competitions and are winless in their last two league games – a draw against Chelsea followed by a defeat to Manchester United. Arne Slot’s side are still in the hunt, but the margin for error is wafer-thin.
Team news and selection decisions
Unai Emery named a strong Aston Villa side, with no great surprises. Emiliano Martínez starts in goal behind a defence of Matty Cash, Victor Lindelöf, Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne, with John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendía in midfield. Pau Torres (listed as ‘Pau’ in the lineup) partners Rogers, while Ollie Watkins leads the line. Harvey Elliott, on loan from Liverpool, is absent as expected – he has made only four Premier League appearances this season, totalling 284 minutes of competitive action. The loan was structured with an obligation to buy at £35 million if Elliott reached ten league appearances, a threshold Villa have deliberately avoided. Emery described the situation as “embarrassing for everyone involved” and apologised to the player. Arne Slot has confirmed Elliott will return to Liverpool for pre-season training.
On Villa’s bench are four former Chelsea players: Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley, Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho – the last of whom has been linked with a free transfer this summer, with Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe reportedly interested.
Liverpool’s lineup sees Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal, behind a back four of Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Milos Kerkez. The midfield trio is Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones, with Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Rio Ngumoha in attack. Alexander Isak misses out with a minor injury – Liverpool were keen not to risk him after such an injury-hit season. Jeremie Frimpong is also sidelined; Arne Slot explained both absences in his pre-match press conference.
Villa are one of only two Premier League teams yet to be awarded a penalty this season, according to WhoScored, the other being Tottenham. Whether that record changes tonight remains to be seen.
Manager views on the stakes and the season
Unai Emery, speaking before the match, made clear that his focus is entirely on the league. “We are choosing as a priority the Premier League. I try to get our objective of the season, to be in Europe. That is a huge challenge at the beginning of the season but we are fighting for the top five position, for Champions League,” he said. “Today, Liverpool at home, the last match of the season here at Villa Park – this should make us confident and proud of what we are doing. Today the focus is 100 per cent only on this match.”
Emery has reached a significant milestone this season, recording his 100th win for Aston Villa in March 2026. He is only the third manager in the club’s history to do so, and he reached the mark in 181 matches – faster than Ron Saunders and Joe Mercer. His win rate of 55 per cent is the highest of any Villa manager, and he has transformed the club into a dangerous knockout team, having won the Europa League four times previously. His contract was extended until 2029.
Arne Slot, meanwhile, faced questions about his own future after a season described internally as disappointing. The Dutchman was appointed in June 2024 on a three-year contract and led Liverpool to the Premier League title in his first campaign – becoming the first Dutch manager to do so. His record in his first 100 games was comparable to Kenny Dalglish’s, with 62 wins. But the current season has seen the team struggle for a Champions League place, and reports have suggested contract extension talks have been shelved pending a review, though other reports indicate he has signed a new two-year deal keeping him at the club beyond 2027. Liverpool would reportedly have to pay £9.5 million (€11 million) to dismiss Slot and his coaching staff.
Slot addressed the speculation directly. “I don’t think I am deciding that myself alone. I have every reason to believe that I am the Liverpool manager next season. First of all, I am contracted to this club, and second of all from all the talks we are having,” he said. “Plans have been made for next season and talks have been ongoing between the club and new players, and I am involved in that. If a manager or a club doesn’t have their best season, there is always debate about that. It is not only at Liverpool. It is all around the world. That is the new reality in football. It is not up to me to judge the people that judge me. They have every right to have their opinion. In this modern time, everyone can share their opinion. This happened 10-15 years ago, but then you did it in the pub and not everyone heard it. Now, it is also done in a pub. From what I am reading, they must have drunk a little bit. That is a joke. But now it is much more out in the open.”
The match also marks the beginning of the end for two Liverpool stalwarts. Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are both expected to depart at the end of the season. Salah’s contract is ending and an agreement for early termination has been reached due to a drop-off in form and output. Robertson is also tipped for a move. Other players linked with exits include Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Federico Chiesa, Calvin Ramsay and Rhys Williams.
History offers little comfort for either side. Liverpool boast a dominant head-to-head record, with 104 wins in 206 meetings against Villa’s 59. They are unbeaten in 11 Premier League meetings with Villa, having won the reverse fixture 2-0 at Anfield earlier this season. The last draw between the sides was a 3-3 thriller at Villa Park in the 2023/24 campaign. However, Villa have not lost their final home league match in any of the six seasons since returning to the Premier League in 2019, while Liverpool have not won their final away league match in the last three seasons.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST, live on Sky Sports. The outcome tonight will reverberate through the final day and beyond.
