Liverpool have handed a start to Jonjo Shelvey versus Aston Villa following his return to the club from a loan spell at Blackpool.
The midfielder was recalled from the Championship side following an injury to Lucas and manager Kenny Dalglish has named him in his starting XI.
Stewart Downing returns to Villa Park for the first time since his summer move and starts alongside Craig Bellamy and Luis Suarez in attack.
Aston Villa are without their two top scorers as Gabriel Agbonlahor serves a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards and Darren Bent misses out with a thigh injury.
Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey starts with Nathan Delfouneso up-front and midfielder Fabian Delph has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of last weekend’s victory at Bolton.
Aston Villa: Guzan; Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock; Albrighton, Delph, Petrov, N’Zogbia; Heskey, Delfouneso.
Subs: Marshall, Bannan, Clark, Cuellar, Weimann, Johnson, Burke.
Liverpool: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Henderson, Adam, Shelvey, Downing; Bellamy, Suarez.
Subs: Carroll, Rodriquez, Coates, Kuyt, Carragher, Doni, Kelly.