The last time Liverpool visited Villa Park, it was with their first-choice back four. It was the last game Virgil van Dijk, world’s best central defender, completed and they conceded seven goals for the first time since 1963.
They return Friday – subject to the FA Cup tie going ahead, as there has been a coronavirus outbreak in the Villa squad - minus the injured Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, the three senior specialists in the position. October's 7-2 defeat has offered a different kind of scarring to Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp does not plan to reopen the wounds.
“I am not a big supporter of mentioning the obvious,” he said. “Everyone knows it is not four or five years ago so I don’t have to remind the players. I don’t plan on talking too much about the game we played there.”
Instead, Klopp focused on his makeshift defence. Two midfielders, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, operated as centre-backs in Monday's defeat to Southampton. A week into a transfer window, Klopp is yet to get reinforcements at the back. The transfer market is unlikely to offer immediate salvation. Liverpool have financial constraints. They have lost around £100 million ($135.5m) due to Covid-19, a context that means they are unlikely to buy.
“If the world would be in a normal place, everything would be fine, we won the league, won the Champions League and the club is in the best possible situation and then you have three senior centre-halves, would you usually do something?” asked Klopp.
“Yes, definitely, but we are not in that situation. You maybe could do something but it would be a short-term solution and that is not right because it doesn’t help. Would one centre half help resolve our problems? For a game or two and then he could be injured.”
He hopes Joel Matip could be fit for next Sunday's meeting with Manchester United but the rookies Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips could be required at Villa Park on Friday. He did not complain about that. He knows sport cannot divorce itself from the realities of the global economy.
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Aston Villa 7, Liverpool 2
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“I don’t know why we constantly try to treat football like it is independent of all the struggles around,” Klopp said. “It is not the time for massive investment if you don’t have the funds for it. Football lives off the things we earn and we don’t have supporters in the stadium. We are still in the middle of a pandemic.”
Klopp has rarely looked for quick fixes. He underlined it is simplistic to see a fine defender at another club and assume Liverpool can recruit them. “A supporter may look at it and think 'they need a centre half and the other team has a good one so bring him in,'” he said. “I understand that but my job is not that. My job is to really to make the players we have here as strong as possible to deal with it.”
Klopp defended owners Fenway Sports Group for their reluctance to buy in January, saying he and they have identical views about what to do.
“In good times everybody thinks our owners are really generous and in bad times everyone thinks they are really tight but they are not,” he said. “They are absolutely concerned about the club and the success of the club and understand how we have it. So they see exactly the same things. These owners are just very responsible with the things we do.”
Klopp has long used his positivity to spur his side on and argued it would be an achievement against the odds to have a successful season without centre-backs as he looked to turn adversity into a rallying cry.
“It is the trickiest situation you can imagine - three senior centre-halves and they are all injured,” he said. “That doesn't happen a lot but it happens so we have to deal it. We cannot sort it now in the transfer market.
"The club tries what it can but if they can't then we have to do what we did so far, get stronger as a group, stick together more and fight against the world, if you want. Fight against the circumstances. Strike back with all you have and make it the most special season ever of it.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
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12%20restaurants%20opening%20at%20the%20hotel%20this%20month
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Honeymoonish
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
