Gerrard names Aston Villa priority for the rest of the season

Steven Gerrard insists staying out of any late trouble is a priority for his Aston Villa side ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

Villa have lost six of their last nine games, including four successive defeats ahead of Saturday’s trip to Leicester.

They are eight points above the Premier League’s bottom three, having played a game less, after a two-week break following the 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

Big Weekend: Arsenal v Man Utd, Merseyside derby, Eriksen

Villa’s current poor run has left them 15th and former Rangers boss Gerrard knows they need to avoid a relegation scrap.

“That was the first job when we first came in. We’re well aware of how the table looks and we have fallen down a few places,” he said.

“We have two games in hand and if we manage to get positive results the table will look very different but we’re aware of our form.

“It’s been frustrating not to have a game to put that right. On Saturday we do and it’s an opportunity for us to get a positive result so the table looks different.

“It’s been stop-start in terms of how the fixtures have been for us. International breaks, Covid and Liverpool progressing in the FA Cup has made us not play for two weeks.

#OnThisDay in 2019, Jonathan Kodjia’s strike against Millwall secured a club-record 10th successive win. pic.twitter.com/Hph34CGB8i

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 22, 2022

“We have made mistakes within games, had moments which have gone against us and we’ve been punished heavily.

“I said after the Tottenham game for the first 45 minutes and pockets of the second half it’s probably the best we’ve played. Where we are right now, I’d certainly prefer a positive result rather than performance.

Is this the biggest Merseyside derby ever?

Are United ready to