Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill wants his players to play without fear this weekend against in-form Liverpool.

He told AVTV: "Before we come back to Villa Park we've got two unbelievably difficult games but you can only deal with one at a time.

"But the focus now is totally on this weekend's game so let's go and play with a little less fear.

"They've had a fantastic victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, they've beaten Real Madrid, so at this moment their form and results have been terrific.

"But last year we went up there, we fought back from a goal behind to get ourselves in front and conceded a late goal.

"What we have to do is keep hold of that self-belief and the players have got to try and remain as strong as possible. They are certainly capable of doing it."