Liverpool has 5 key players missing for Aston Villa game in Premier League clash

Liverpool will be when travels to Anfield on Saturday - where the Reds will hope to extend their lead at .

's Reds are the strong favorites to claim all three points in the late fixture of the schedule on Saturday, where they'll come up against an out-of-form Villa side who have lost three consecutive games. But Unai Emery's side remains in the top-eight spots in the while sitting in sixth in the EPL.

Meanwhile, Liverpool comes into the game after winning their last three after dominating 's Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in midweek.

A win will see Liverpool remain at the top of the table for the next two weeks with another international break to come after the weekend - potentially going more than three points clear at the top should Manchester City drop points against Brighton on Saturday afternoon.

While Slot will have a strong roster to call upon, he already knows he'll be without these five men...

Alisson Becker

has been out since Liverpool's victory over Crystal Palace after suffering another hamstring injury - something that has hampered him over the last few years.

The Brazilian is not expected to return until December, with Slot likely to be careful with the goalkeeper moving forward with the injury being one that could return. In his place, has performed admirably in what is likely to be his last season with the Irish international wanting to become a first-choice stopper.

Alexis Mac Allister

Slot's go-to option for the number 8 position in Liverpool's midfield, will be suspended for the game against Aston Villa after picking up a booking against his former team in Brighton. The Argentine has been booked five times this campaign, meaning he'll miss one game.

In his place, is likely to get the nod with the Liverpudlian-born star in fine form after returning from injury, while being named to Lee Carsley's last England squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over.

Harvey Elliott

The Reds have been without their talented 21-year-old since the beginning of the season after he suffered a fractured foot, with Slot confirming he will not return until late-November at the earliest.

has been pictured in the gym for consecutive weeks now, and is beginning to look close to returning in what will be a huge boost to the midfield.

Diogo Jota

remains a huge miss for the Reds, having become Slot’s preferred No.9 this season ahead of . But the Portuguese star has missed the last five games after suffering an 'upper body injury' in the win over Chelsea.

Like Elliott, Slot has confirmed that Jota will return to the team after the international break. In his place, the head coach has rotated Nunez and in the No.9 role.

Federico Chiesa

Chiesa has not featured for the Reds in over a month with fans being concerned due to his extensive injury history. There is currently no timeline for his return - with the Italian not seen in training pictures in recent weeks.

Speaking two weeks ago, Slot said: "That's always difficult to say because he goes a bit up and down: sometimes he's there with us, training for a few days, and then he goes out with injury again. So, I don't want to put days or weeks on it because I think we just have to make sure he gets in the best possible shape and don't put any pressure on him by coming up with dates."