LEICESTER CITY VS LIVERPOOL: PREVIEW

Liverpool return to action on Monday night when they make the trip to the King Power Stadium to take on relegation threatened Leicester. Dean Smith’s side languish in 18th place – 2 points from safety, whilst the Reds are attempting a late push for a top four finish. Here’s the match preview.

This late push has been made possible by a belated run of wins. Leeds, Forest, West Ham, Tottenham, Fulham and Brentford have all been beaten as Klopp’s charges apply late pressure on Newcastle and Manchester United. The Reds now sit in 5th place, 3 points off Newcastle and 1 off United having played a game more.

Liverpool have now gone unbeaten in their last eight league encounters, easily their best run this campaign. This turnaround in fortunes coincided with a change in system that has allowed Alexander-Arnold to play in midfield when the side is in possession.

We saw this new shape last time out against Brentford, with Trent constantly getting on the ball in the middle of the park and dictating the tempo of the game. He should have recorded another assist after a glorious ball over the top but Darwin failed to make connection.

The second half was grittier, with the Reds hanging on at the end as Brentford piled on late pressure. The boys got it over the line to keep their second consecutive clean sheet. This refound defensive resolve bodes well heading into the final three games.

Opponents Leicester have endured a harrowing campaign which has seen former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers sacked. The Northern Irishman was relieved of his duties after a 2-1 defeat at Palace last month that saw the Foxes drop into the relegation places.

Former Villa manager Dean Smith has been appointed since then and has managed to pick up 5 points from his 5 league matches. It’s represented a slight uptick in form considering the Foxes had only picked up 4 points in the 9 matches preceding this.

It’s still not been enough to get them out of the drop zone however, with Everton’s huge win at Brighton seeing them move 2 points clear of Leicester in the battle against the drop. It has been a shocking fall from grace for the Foxes.

They were lifting the FA Cup and challenging for Champions League places just two seasons ago. In fact, they have nailed a top half finish in each of the last five campaigns, finishing as high as fifth place (with 66 points) in 2020/21.

Now they face the very real threat of relegation back to the Championship. They will come up against an in-form Liverpool side on Monday night knowing they desperately need to get something from the game. In the reverse fixture, two Wout Faes own goals helped the Reds to a 2-1 comeback victory.

Leicester crucially remain potent going forward. They possess an enviable set of attackers, with the likes of Vardy, Daka, Iheanacho, Maddison, Barnes and co contributing to the Foxes’ tally of 49 league goals. No team in the bottom half can match that tally.

They have however conceded a whopping 64 goals, with only Bournemouth, Forest and Leeds conceding more in the entire division. They are dangerous going forward but hopelessly porous at the back, failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 20 league encounters.

The home faithful will get behind their team and create a hostile atmosphere but Jürgen Klopp’s men should have too much for the Foxes. The German has taken charge of 17 games in league and Cup against Leicester, winning 10 and losing on 5 occasions.

The Reds lost their first three trips to Leicester under Klopp before winning the next three. However, they’ve lost on their last two visits to the King Power Stadium. It is a bit of a bogey ground so there should be a degree of caution.

Team News

Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita remain unavailable. The Brazilian is closer to a return and has been having individual training sessions. He should be fit for his farewell game at Anfield next weekend.

For Leicester, Kelechi Iheanacho is still struggling with the groin injury he picked up against Leeds a fortnight ago. Ryan Bertrand, Jannik Vestegaard (calf) and James Justin (achilles) remain out.