Liverpool’s bid to whittle down the gap on the Premier League top four continues on Friday as they meet out-of-form Leicester City at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s men picked up where they left off in November when they sunk bottom-half Southampton 3-1 at home, with Mohamed Salah inspiring them to a 3-1 victory at Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
After the Egyptian superstar and Virgil van Dijk scored in the first half, teenage prodigy Stefan Bajcetic sealed the Reds’ landslide victory at Villa Park with his first touch of the game.
Encouraged by a three-game winning Premier League streak for the first time this season, Liverpool will be looking to put the final nail in Brendan Rodgers’ coffin at the King Power Stadium.
The former Reds boss has grown increasingly unpopular among the Foxes faithful after they suffered another thumping defeat on Boxing Day, with Newcastle United humbling them 3-0 this time.
Rodgers’ team were two goals down only seven minutes into their home clash against the high-flying Magpies on Monday before Joelinton killed the game off just after the half-hour mark.
Despite winning back-to-back top-flight fixtures on the stroke of the mid-season break, they come into proceedings frantically looking over their shoulders, with 18th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers four points adrift.
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Liverpool
Liverpool’s free-scoring form at Anfield has seen them get on the scoresheet across their last 31 Premier League home outings (W23, D7, L1), only losing to Leeds United in that period.
However, if you’re seeking an omen, the Reds capped off the last calendar year with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of non-other than Leicester, which forms part of their indifferent three-game H2H league form (W1, L2).
That means Klopp’s men should avoid complacency on Friday, even though their eye-catching 11-match home H2H record (W9, D2) suggests this may be a walk in the park.
Leicester City
The abovementioned defeat to Newcastle condemned Leicester to their worst 16-game Premier League start (W5, D2, L9) since their top-flight return in 2014/15, putting Rodgers under heavy scrutiny.
On a more positive note, the Foxes have won their last three away league games via multi-goal margins and without conceding, though it’s worth noting that those triumphs came against fellow bottom-half strugglers.
Whether they can outperform a team from the upper half of the table for the first time this season is another story, especially considering they’ve conceded at least twice on their last three league visits to Anfield (L3).
Liverpool vs Leicester City Potential Line-ups
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Harvey Elliott; Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Danny Ward; Timothy Castagne, Daniel Amartey, Wout Faes, Luke Thomas; Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans; Ayoze Perez, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Harvey Barnes; Jamie Vardy.
How to Watch?
Liverpool vs Leicester City, alongside all other fixtures in England’s top flight, is available to watch online via live Premier League streams.
Liverpool vs Leicester City Prediction
Despite missing several key attacking components, including Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, Liverpool should have no problems penetrating Leicester’s staunch rearguard.
Eyes will be on Darwin Nunez, whose poor finishing let him down against Villa, as Salah needs a prolific partner to help the Reds reignite their top-four pursuit.
Leicester showed nothing offensively against Newcastle, and it’s hard to see them excel at Anfield as we back Klopp’s men to stroll to a clear-cut win.
Liverpool 3-0 Leicester City
