“They have to respect us as well" - Emiliano Martinez warns Liverpool

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has sent Liverpool a warning ahead of tonight's Premier League clash at Villa Park.

With three top-flight fixtures remaining, the Reds are three points behind league leaders Manchester City. Therefore, Liverpool have to defeat Aston Villa tonight if they are to stay in the title race.

But, Martinez has made it clear that Jurgen Klopp's side are in for a tough game.

Speaking with Aston Villa’s club website, the 29-year-old said: “We beat them last season, it was a close game at Anfield this season and I don’t want us to have the regret of respecting Liverpool too much.

“They have to respect us as well – Villa Park is not an easy ground to play at. We have to go for the three points.

“We need a big win, and it would be a big, big win to beat one of the best teams in Europe right now.

“After this season, where we’ve had a couple of four or five-game losing streaks, we deserve a big win, and hopefully it can be tonight.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

We completely agree with Martinez that Aston Villa could cause Liverpool some problems. In fact, we said that yesterday in our match preview.

Martinez did mention Aston Villa's 7-2 victory over Liverpool at Villa Park last season. But, that game is in the past.

We highly doubt that Klopp's team will be thinking about the aforementioned result heading into tonight's fixture.

With what is on the line, hopefully Liverpool can remain calm and focused at Villa Park. We do have faith that Klopp's side will do exactly that.

The Reds have won plenty of big matches under the German in the past.