Behind Enemy Lines: Dean Smith's Liverpool homework and Jack Grealish, the Steven Gerrard-like inspiration who would walk into top teams

A hectic start to the season for Liverpool comes to a close this evening, when the champions make the trip to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa in the final Premier League match before the international break. And to get the lowdown on a revitalised and big-spending Villa side, Paul Wheelock speaks to Ashley Preece, the Aston Villa writer for the Birmingham Live website, who tells all about what has been an exciting summer, and exciting start to the campaign, for fans of Dean Smith’s team. Villa, like Liverpool, boast a 100% winning record going into Sunday’s game. But have they any chance of stopping a Reds side that were at their imperious best in Monday’s 3-1 win over Arsenal at Anfield? Paul puts that question to Ashley, plus more about the likes of Jack Grealish and Villa new boy Ross Barkley.The Liverpool Echo sends a twice-daily Liverpool FC bulletin out via email with the all latest news, views and analysis from Anfield. Sign up for this service here: https://communicatoremail.com/F/QvfUCndgGDRHFbKqw0Z7Ip/Join our Blood Red podcast group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1656599847979758/Watch and subscribe to our Blood Red videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloodRedLiverpoolFCVisit the Liverpool ECHO website: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fcDownload our Liverpool FC app for free: Apple – https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/lfc-echo/id1255495425 Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mirror.liverpoolfc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices