Lucas: Winning feeling is vital

Lucas Leiva is desperate for Liverpool to carry the winning feeling into their crucial trip to Aston Villa on Tuesday.

Rafa Benitez's struggling side beat 10-man Wolves on Boxing Day to record a welcome victory after the previous weekend's defeat at Portsmouth.

Lucas now acknowledges the importance of carrying momentum into a midweek trip to Villa, who want to knock Liverpool out of the Premier League's Big Four but lost 3-0 at Arsenal on Sunday.

The seventh-placed Reds still trail fourth-spot occupants Villa by five points and the Brazilian midfielder recognises that a victory in the Midlands would be an excellent boost.

"We are happy because we really needed the three points (against Wolves)," Lucas, who scored an own goal when Liverpool lost 3-1 to Villa at Anfield in August, told his club's official website.

"I think we played well and deserved to win. Now we have to build some momentum.

"We have an important game with Villa and we know that if we beat them we will be closer.

"Like I have said before, every game is like a cup final for us and we must keep working hard to try and win some matches in a row.

"Villa will be a really difficult game and we don't have too much time to recover, but we will make sure we are ready and try to get the three points."

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