The new season is about to kick-off and Rafa Benitez is all gung-ho about his Anfield side. It could be dubbed as the clash of the titans as Liverpool meets Aston Villa in their den at Villa Park not because Aston Villa is a giant itself but because the head to head record at Villa Park weighs heavily in favor of Martin O’Neill’s side. It would be a battle of the statistics. Liverpool has lost only three of their last 31 opening day matches. They had lost their first at Wolves in 1981, second at Nottingham Forest in 1992 and the third against Chelsea four years ago. However, they have not won an opening game under Rafa Benitez’ leadership since 2002. At the same time, they are chasing a personal milestone as they need 4 goals for 7000 in their League history. The overall statistics between the two sides stands at 77 for Liverpool and 51 for Aston Villa with as many as 36 draws.

With ‘Captain Marvel’ Steven Gerrard leading the side, there is a lot of expectation that the team would bring back the forever-elusive Premiership title. Liverpool has an impressive record of 18 league titles along with four European Cup victories and is always a formidable outfit on any football field. With a premier league history dating back to 1992 after their FA Cup victory against Sunderland, the Reds would look to regain their glorious days. With Souness finding it a tough ask to establish a name in the League, Roy Evans was handed over the mantle of the highly talented side in 1994. Year 2001 was nothing short of a dream for the Anfield side as they bagged 5 victories, which include UEFA and FA cups. Year 2002 was not bad either as they ended runners-up in the season, since it was their best performance in FA Premier League, by and large. Benitez has been working overtime to put together a fine side of cross-country and International talent, with new additions like Spain's Fernando Torres, the Netherlands' Ryan Babel and Ukraine's Andriy Voronin. They will join Dutch star Dirk Kuyt and Englishman Peter Crouch. Merseyside certainly looks like it can do better this time. After all, Liverpool is one of the strongest teams in the Barclaycard Premiership.

On the other side, Aston Villa boasts of a side that is packed with talent and looks good enough to leave a lasting impression in the Barclaycard Premiership. The have added tooth to the outfit with Reds goalkeeper Scott Carson. However Martin O’Neill has been battling injury woes as John Carew hasn’t recovered from his groin injury yet. However, the side has been bolstered with new additions like under-21 skipper English skipper Nigel Reo-Coker who shows a lot of promise as well as Marlon Harewood, who would most probably sit on the bench unless somebody gets injured. Moreover, the news doing the rounds is that O’Neill looks better equipped than O’Leary to lead the side to top 10 as emerging talent like Jjloyd Samuels and Luke Moore had looked more comfortable working with him. The same was observed with veterans Swede Olof Mellberg, and the strikers Milan Baros and Juan Pablo Angel. It is expected that the trend would continue with the new side. The midfield looks stable in the hands of Steven Davis, who is one of the strongest midfielders in England.

The match at Villa Park will be not just another game. It will be a battle of wits and an attempt to establish superiority. Liverpool would look to break the Villa Park Jinx and Aston Villa will strive to finish in the top 10. It will be a clash for glory.