It was James Milner's second-minute goal that set Liverpool on their way to a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield back in September.

But it is a strong finish, rather than an energetic start, that the midfielder is most hoping to see from the Reds during this afternoon's return fixture at Villa Park.

Jürgen Klopp's team are without a win in their last five outings, a run that was extended as they were beaten late in extra-time against West Ham United in the FA Cup on Tuesday.

And Milner is hoping Liverpool can do better in the closing stages to ensure a more positive result when they face the Villans today.

"When things aren’t going well for a club, if you can get on top early on in the game, you can get the crowd a bit restless and a bit nervous and that can sometimes feed into the pitch," he told Liverpoolfc.com.

"But it’s important finishing the game stronger at this moment in time. That’s been our problem recently and where we’ve conceded the goals, if we have been up we’ve let it slip towards the end so starting quick is obviously important but I’d say finishing well is even more important. 

"We need to keep that concentration to the end and see these games out when we’re in a good position and just have that bit more experience of how to see out a game." 

Klopp will hope the trip to Villa Park sees his team produce a response to the disappointing FA Cup exit at West Ham in midweek.

His vice-captain believes a strong team spirit is key to turning things around and kick-starting a strong run ahead of a key period of the campaign.

"It’s times like this you need that team spirit," he added.

"We haven’t won in a few games and we probably should’ve done being 2-0 up in the league [against Sunderland] and coming away with a draw then performing well [at West Ham], having enough chances to seal the game, and going out of the cup. 

"These are the times when you need that team spirit and the lads to get together and dig out a result. We’re not coming off the pitch having said that we’ve played poorly, when we were 2-0 up the other day we played well for 83 minutes and then a couple of mistakes and you get punished at this level. 

"But that’s where you need some team spirit to pull you out, we’ve got some massive games coming up, a lot of games still. Getting the boys back will help as well and give everyone a boost. 

"It’s an important period of the season, we want to finish strongly in the league, we’ve got a chance to win a trophy, and obviously we’re in Europe as well. 

"It’s disappointing to be out of the FA Cup but it’s up to us to knuckle down and keep working hard on the good things we’ve done and improve on the mistakes we’ve been making."

Milner is returning to his old stomping ground this afternoon, having spent four seasons at Villa Park prior to his move to Manchester City.

As such, the Reds No.7 is hoping Remi Garde can steer his former club away from the relegation zone, though he is keen for any late resurgence to begin after today's game.

"It’s disappointing, I had some great times there and it’s obviously a big club and a club I enjoyed being at," he explained.

"I’ve obviously got friends there so it’s never nice to see them in the position they’re in but there’s still quality there and I think they have performed a bit better recently so hopefully they can turn it around. 

"It’s a great place to play football as well so you don’t want them to drop out of the league and miss out on playing in that stadium. 

"Hopefully they can turn it round, there’s always one team that seems to do that and put a run together, so it might be them this year but hopefully that starts on Sunday after we beat them."