Liverpool are unfathomably trying to avoid a fifth Premier League defeat in a row, but how equipped are Aston Villa to heap further misery on them?The Reds’ title defence is threatening to go out in a whimper before November has even started, following a dire run of form.On Saturday night, Liverpool welcome Villa to Anfield, with Unai Emery’s side outlining their credentials with a 1-0 win at home to Man City last weekend.With kick-off fast approaching, we spoke to Villans fan and writer Frankie Maguire (@FrankieMaguire) to discuss a big game for both sides, including the key battles. How happy are you with Aston Villa’s start to the season?The season started unusually poorly, with no goals in our first four games.It felt like there was a hangover from the terrible loss to Man United on the final day of last season, which cost the club Champions League, and the subsequent transfer window where Aston Villa were heavily restricted on spending by UEFA sanctions.But playing in Europe has helped Villa regain momentum, and since the opening Europa League win over Bologna, we have been on a great run of six wins in seven.The cobwebs have been fully shaken off in two excellent wins over Tottenham and Man City, and now the fanbase can dream about fighting for European places again. Which three players have stood out most? Anyone struggled?John McGinn has been a totemic figure at times, scoring the winner against Bologna, which helped drag the club out of its malaise.His hold-up play, smart passing and leadership are key.Boubacar Kamara has performed like his usual sensational self, and Matty Cash is in the form of his life.Emi Buendia has also looked excellent, but unfortunately, he got quite a nasty injury against City.However, the key man is Pau Torres.His return to the defence midway through the home win over Fulham has added his brilliant passing range from deep and transformed how Villa attack and retain the ball at the back.His ball-playing from deep was needed, given that the influential Youri Tielemans has been injured for most of the season. How has Harvey Elliott fared since he joined on loan?A very strange case. It is difficult to know exactly what’s going on.Harvey Elliott is obviously a highly talented player, but the role he played at Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool doesn’t really exist within Villa’s system.Therefore, he was always going to have to adapt to a new role, which was likely to be the No. 10 – a key position in Emery’s setup.He played as the 10 against Fulham, but wasn’t quite on the same wavelength as a few other players.Emery also criticised him for trying to rush passes against Sunderland, and he was surprisingly left out of the squad entirely for the City game.It is obvious Emery feels like Elliott needs time to adapt, and this could be the same case of ‘tough love’ that the manager gave to Tielemans when he first started at Villa.The noises around the training ground suggest Elliott is well-liked and has a good attitude.We will find out more over November and December about where Elliott is going with Villa.One really good performance will make everyone forget this odd start to his Villa career. What’s the main aim for this season?The aim has to be pushing hard for the Champions League places in the Premier League and using our recent European experiences to go deep in the Europa League.This group of players has shown they can get top four and Champions League football – they have beaten multiple top sides in Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, City, Arsenal and more.They must try and use those experiences to build towards something special. How do you assess Liverpool’s start to the campaign?Bizarre, bordering on disastrous.There were early warning signs in the Bournemouth win that Liverpool had defensive issues on the counter, but winning multiple games in a row gave the impression Arne Slot’s side would find a way to overcome their flaws and push on.It is, therefore, shocking to see the run of losses the Reds have since endured.The incredible Mo Salah doesn’t look close to his best, while Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate look much shakier than normal.Villa found out early last season that you can’t keep winning games with exciting late winners in back-and-forth matches.Your luck runs out eventually, and maybe there is some kind of new defensive shape Slot might have to incorporate soon to stop conceding. What is the Reds’ main issue currently?The defensive flaws are obvious and match what Jamie Carragher said to Slot during a post-match interview at the start of the season.Liverpool look surprisingly open on the counter and it does lead to questions about whether the club should have prioritised a defensive signing during a summer of heavy spending.A few talismanic players don’t look right, and new signings like Florian Wirtz are going to take time to bed in.The challenge is that a lot of these players were signed for huge fees, and so the pressure for them to perform instantly is high.That said, Hugo Ekitike looks tremendous.From the outside, it looks like a challenging situation, but one which surely this coach and gifted group of players can work their way through. Where will the key battles take place this weekend?The key battle could be in the central area. Amadou Onana and Kamara are physically imposing players and good on the ball.If they can repeat their City display in the tough Anfield atmosphere and give Liverpool’s central players little space to work in, Villa could have some joy as a defensive unit and look for moments to exploit space which opens for counter-attacks.If Liverpool leave space behind when they press high against Villa’s ball-playing defenders, players like Morgan Rogers, and possibly Jadon Sancho, could cause problems.Slot’s side will also need to find a way to cut off Torres’ passing options.Liverpool will almost certainly be the more attacking team, so a few battles to watch may include Onana or Kamara tracking Wirtz or Dominik Szoboszlai.Lucas Digne one-on-one against Salah will be a key duel.Cody Gakpo or Ekitike cutting in from the Liverpool left against Cash is another area to watch, with Villa’s right-back likely to need support from Kamara to stop those runs inside. Finally, what’s your prediction?I don’t know a single Villa fan who looks at our in-form side going to an out-of-form Liverpool with anything other than concern.In the past, this is the exact type of scenario we haven’t turned up for.The Anfield crowd will rally around their side and Villa will probably have to survive an early onslaught.If we can do that, we can slowly work our way into the game and exploit opportunities when they arise.There is a big part of me that thinks this ends up being a 3-1 Liverpool win with Ekitike grabbing a couple, but I’m going to try and be optimistic and say a 2-2 draw.