Erik ten Hag explains his starting XI

The Reds delivered one of our best performances of 2023/24 last Sunday, when beating West Ham by three goals to nil, but suffered a huge blow when Lisandro Martinez was substituted due to a knee injury.

The next day, the club confirmed that the Argentinian would miss "at least" eight weeks, so we knew at least one change was coming for this tough fixture at Villa Park.

Erik has kept the team exactly the same, except for Martinez's replacement, and Raphael Varane is the defender that has been chosen to step in.

Speaking to the media shortly after the team news was confirmed, Ten Hag explained his thinking, and confirmed that Harry Maguire – not Varane – would play as the left-sided centre-back.

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