Lucas comes into midfield for the Reds after injury ended Joe Allen’s season, while Paul Lambert’s team make only one change after beating QPR 3-2 in their last game

Daniel Sturridge is on the bench but Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher return for Liverpool for their visit to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Luis Suarez starts in attack and is supported by Stewart Downing and Philippe Coutinho, while Daniel Agger is preferred to Martin Skrtel.

Lucas, meanwhile, returns to central midfield ahead of Joe Allen, whose season has been ended by a shoulder injury.

Paul Lambert’s Villa, meanwhile, also line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Andreas Weimann, Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor leading the line.

Ciaran Clark has a shoulder injury so Nathan Baker switches to centre-back and Joe Bennett returns at left-back. Otherwise, Villa are unchanged after beating QPR 3-2 last time out.

Aston Villa: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bennett; Westwood, Bannan, Sylla; Weimann, Benteke, Agbonlahor.

Subs: Given, N’Zogbia, Delph, Dawkins, El Ahmadi, Bowery, Lichaj.

Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Enrique; Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson; Downing, Suarez, Coutinho.

Subs: Jones, Coates, Skrtel, Shelvey, Sterling, Suso, Sturridge.

The Aston Villa captain thinks the prolific Uruguayan has overcome his diving reputation this season, but still believes his fellow countryman has been more decisive

Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar has revealed he is voting for Robin van Persie ahead of Luis Suarez as his PFA Player of the Year.

Along with Gareth Bale and Juan Mata, Suarez and Van Persie are considered front runners for the award, for which the voting closes on Tuesday.

But while Suarez is the Premier League’s top scorer, Vlaar has his reasons for hailing his fellow Dutchman as the best footballer in England this season.

“You could say it is because he is my mate, but I think we can all see how good Robin is, even if Suarez has more goals,” he told reporters.

“Overall, Manchester United are top of the League and he has made the ­difference.

“It was 15 points this week – that is ­unbelievable.”

Suarez’s reputation for diving is expected by some to count against him in the final reckoning for the award, and Vlaar admits the Uruguayan found himself in a similar situation in the Netherlands.

“You talk about the dives in England, but it was the same in Holland. What can I say? Things happen in a game, the story follows him,” he added.

“I remember there were some issues in the ­papers at home where it was talked about.

“But it has stopped here, just as it did eventually in Holland. I think his quality as a player has made that change.

“I think he wants us to talk about his qualities and he is doing the right things at the moment to make that happen.”

A resurgent Villa welcome Brendan Rodgers’ men to the Midlands and Hugh Wilson is backing goals and has an unmissable 9/5 value bet to feast on

After recording back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time this season, Aston Villa find themselves clear of the relegation places by three points.

Paul Lambert’s men have dug deep in the last couple of weeks to beat relegation rivals Reading and QPR, but they face a sterner test on Sunday against a Liverpool side still gunning for the European places.

The manner of victory in their last two matches has showed that there is still confidence in the side. Trailing against both Reading and QPR, Villa rallied to claim the three points in each game. Unsurprisingly, they are outsiders for this clash, with BetVictor pricing them at 4/1 (5.00) to make it three on the bounce.

Despite losing to Southampton in their last outing, Liverpool are right in the hunt for the European places. The Reds sit in 7th place in the league, three points behind bitter rivals Everton having played a game more.

Brendan Rodgers will see this as a great opportunity to get back to winning ways and potentially close the gap, with his side favourites at a short 3/4 (1.75) with BetVictor to win.

With Liverpool’s current away form of one win in their last seven away games, it’s worth avoiding this short price. The same firm offer the draw at 29/10 (3.90).

A bet that stands out in this fixture is over 2.5 goals at 4/6 (1.67). Both sides have been involved in some high scoring games recently, with this bet paying out in 17 of each team’s last 19 matches.

For those looking for more value, the anytime scorer market makes for interesting reading. Liverpool goal machine Luis Suarez is 37/40 (1.93) to net anytime, but this doesn’t offer enough value; the 4/1 (5.00) for him to score two or more is tempting.

However, it’s Aston Villa’s main man who provides the outstanding value. Christian Benteke has been a revelation since joining Villa, with the Belgian netting 10 goals in his last 12 games. The striker is 9/5 (2.80) to score anytime with BetVictor, with this price offering unbelievable value.

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