Steven Gerrard's Anfield return: Liverpool vs Aston Villa - watch free match highlights with Sky Sports
Steven Gerrard set for Anfield return as Aston Villa take on Liverpool on December 11 - kick-off 3pm; follow our live blog and watch free match highlights from 5.15pm on Sky Sports website and app
Saturday 11 December 2021 12:46, UK
Steven Gerrard is returning to Anfield for the first time as a manager when he leads Aston Villa at former club Liverpool on Saturday - and you can watch free match highlights of the game shortly after full-time with Sky Sports.
Gerrard has made a brilliant start to life as a Premier League boss after joining Aston Villa from Rangers, who he led to a 55th Scottish Premiership title last season.
Since his arrival, which came after Dean Smith was sacked following a run of five successive defeats, the 41-year-old has won three of his first four matches in charge of Villa, with the only defeat coming in narrow fashion against champions Manchester City.
Gerrard's latest win as Villa boss was a 2-1 victory against Leicester and it was made all the sweeter for the former Liverpool midfielder given it came against his old manager at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers.
The question now is whether Gerrard can do to Jurgen Klopp - the man who gave him his first coaching job in Liverpool's academy - what he did to Rodgers when Aston Villa face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday to continue his flying start to life as a manager in England's top flight...
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How to follow Gerrard's return to Liverpool
Liverpool host Gerrard's Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, December 11 (3pm kick-off).
You can follow the game with our live blog on the Sky Sports website and app from 1.30pm - and get details of the starting line-ups from Anfield as soon as the teams are announced at 2pm.
You won't need to wait long to see the match highlights - we'll bring them to you for free from 5.15pm on the Sky Sports website and app, as well as on our Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
Gerrard returns to Anfield - key stats...
- This will be Steven Gerrard's first match against Liverpool as a manager, the club he played for 710 times in all competitions, the third-most in the Reds' history.
- Former players managing against the Reds at Anfield in the Premier League have lost 14 of their last 16 visits (W1, D1), with Kevin Keegan the last former Liverpool player to win there, in May 2003 with Manchester City.
- Aston Villa have won three of their four Premier League games under Steven Gerrard (L1), as many as they had in 11 games under Dean Smith this season (D1 L7).
- Gerrard is looking to be the first Villa manager to win his first two Premier League away games in charge of the club since John Gregory (first five in 1998).
- Liverpool have won six of their last seven Premier League games against Aston Villa (L1), scoring at least twice in all seven games.
- After a four-game unbeaten away run against Liverpool in the Premier League between 2012 and 2014, Aston Villa have now lost each of their last three visits to Anfield in the competition.
- Liverpool have won their last two home Premier League matches 4-0, against Arsenal and Southampton. The Reds haven't won three consecutive home league games by a margin of at least four goals since September/October 1987, beating Derby, Portsmouth and QPR 4-0 back then.
How Klopp set Gerrard on the road to management
Gerrard's return to Anfield promises to be an emotional occasion for the former Liverpool captain, whose move into management was facilitated by Klopp, the man he dreams of one day succeeding.
Ahead of his return to Liverpool with Aston Villa on Saturday, here, we examine his coaching journey so far, including...
- Taking notes on his managers while contemplating a future in coaching during his playing career
- Turning down a chance to manage MK Dons in favour of an academy role at Liverpool after leaving LA Galaxy
- Impressing Klopp with his work ethic and attention to detail while in charge of Liverpool's U18s
- Forging his identity as a manager while steering Rangers to a record-breaking 55th Scottish league title
What Gerrard's said about his return to Anfield...
Following Aston Villa's 2-1 victory against Leicester last Sunday, Gerrard was asked if there were any sentimental thoughts in his head ahead of the game against Liverpool.
He said: "None, none at all. I just want to go there and try and win and try to take what we can.
"We are not competing with Liverpool in terms of the level we are both at, at the moment, but we'll certainly go there and give everything we've got.
"We took City to the wire and I believe we should have got something out of the game with our second-half performance. So, we go there with confidence and belief, with three wins out of four and we go and try and make it as difficult as we can."
What Klopp's said about Gerrard the manager...
Klopp believes Gerrard has had the "perfect" coaching career so far, one that can help him become a potential Liverpool manager one day.
"In England you have some club legends and think 'could he be the coach?" Klopp told Sky Sports in November. "When Frank Lampard took over at Chelsea everyone thought 'that makes sense', but then where can he go from there?
"Stevie is doing everything right so far, getting some experience here with the academy, taking his coaching experiences to Rangers, being very, very, very successful there, then he had made the next step. So far it has been the perfect career.
"While I'm here, it's difficult but of course [he can be Liverpool's future manager]. But it is important that from now on that the Steven Gerrard Aston Villa chapter starts and that's exactly what will happen."
Watch free Premier League highlights with Sky Sports
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We'll bring you highlights of every Premier League game on the Sky Sports website and app for the majority of games shortly after full-time.
The highlights of games kicking off at 12.30pm and 3pm will be published at 5.15pm that day.
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Sky Sports' digital platforms are the home of live blogs for every Premier League game, including commentary, analysis and team line-ups. Sky Sports customers can also watch in-game clips from Sky Live games in our dedicated live blogs.