Few years ago City youngsters lost to Chelsea first team 1:5 in FA Cup so surely Liverpool U21 cant make worse result right ... I'd imagine that they will get on to scoresheet atleast against this Villa side (who probably dont use their strongest squad either as they're having relegation six-pointer vs Saints on sat)
Easy prize money for Aston Villa for reaching the league cup semi-final.
But Liverpool participation and hopefully winning the Club World Cup will do far more good, both in the sporting and marketing sense.